Aura Guardian of Beacon
by Aoi Hyoudou
Summary: Ash Ketchum is sent to Beacon Academy to stay with his uncle Professor Ozpin for the whole year after his loss to Sawyer in the Kalos League. Upon his arrival, Ash discovers what lies ahead of him as he must train to become the next Aura Guardian to protect Beacon Academy from a looming threat. He will meet new friends, new enemies, and perhaps...romance?
1. Welcome to Beacon

**Aoi Hyoudou:** While PokéHearts is currently on hiatus, I'm doing a brief side-project between Pokémon and RWBY. There's a poll up on my profile to determine the pairing for the story. Go vote! As for the story plot itself, it revolves around Ash being a long distant nephew to Ozpin, but that's not all. He's the next Aura Guardian who will help save Beacon from a major threat! It takes place after Volume 2 and before the Vytal Festival tournament. Hope you like it! Enjoy!

 **Welcome to Beacon**

{…}

 _"Attention! Attention to all passengers! We'll be arriving at Beacon Academy shortly. Please gather your belongings and wait for further instructions. Thank you."_

An announcement came from the ship's intercom speaker, alerting all of its passengers that the aircraft was about to land at its destination in a few minutes.

"Hm…" A young teen of about sixteen years with messy black hair and auburn eyes simply went back to gazing out the window and ignored the announcement altogether. He was currently wearing his traditional traveling clothes from his last journey in the Kalos region, which consisted of a blue-collared shirt with short sleeves, dark blue jeans, red and white hat and red high top sneakers.

This young man was Ash Ketchum: Pokémon Trainer, son of Delia Ketchum, and oh yeah…the long distant nephew to the Beacon Academy headmaster, Professor Ozpin Ketchum.

After falling just short in the Kalos League in a loss to Sawyer, he returned home to Pallet Town where he received a letter from his favorite uncle. While it was unexpected to hear from his uncle again for the first time in over a decade since his father left to become a 'Pokémon Master', it was still nice that he didn't forget his nephew. Reading thorough the letter, Ozpin had suddenly requested him to come to Beacon Academy as soon as possible. While the details were sketchy at best, there was no way the young teen was going to miss the opportunity to see his uncle again. Plus, it provided him a good enough reason to take a brief break from his Pokémon journey. While he was a little disappointed that he couldn't bring Pikachu or any of his other Pokémon along with him on the trip, he'll survive, somehow.

Pulling out a small photo from one of the pockets of his jeans, he glanced down at it and smiled: it showed a five-year-old him standing next to a middle-aged man with tousled gray hair and thin brown eyes. The latter was accessorized with a pair of shaded glass spectacles and a dark-green scarf with a small, purple, cross-shaped emblem on it. His outfit on the other hand mainly consisted of an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green undershirt, black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants. The most notable part of the man, however, was his cane.

Professor Ozpin Ketchum.

His uncle.

Ash immediately pocketed away the photo when the intercom speaker went back on.

 _"Attention to all passengers! We've arrived at Beacon Academy. Please use the nearest exit. Thank you!"_

The Pokémon Trainer glanced out through the window and noticed a notable facility in his view.

It was Beacon Academy.

{…}

A few minutes later, Ash disembarked the aircraft and walked causally through the courtyard, observing his new surroundings. He took note of several students walking in the courtyard in their academy uniforms. As he was passing through, he noticed that some students were whispering about something. He ignored them and proceeded to reach the front gate of Beacon Academy. He took a brief moment to dig into his shirt pocket and pull out Ozpin's letter, skimming it over to see which floor and room at which Ozpin's office was located.

{…}

"Finally..." It was a big hassle trying to find Ozpin's office, especially when he was a newcomer, having no idea which floor or hall to take. But with a little assistance from the Beacon Academy staff members, the young teen was able to navigate his way through the maze-like building to reach his destination.

Standing outside the front door to his uncle's office, Ash took a deep breath and smiled as he was about to knock on the door until he heard a female voice coming from the other side. "Professor, why are we here?" He paused briefly as he leaned his ear close to the door, listening in on the private conversation.

"What did Yang do this time?" The second voice belonged to another female.

"Hey! I didn't do anything wrong….yet." The next voice also belonged to a young female.

"Come on you two, maybe it's about Ruby was stealing everyone's cookies again during lunch," the fourth female voice joked playfully.

"Hey!" the first voice whined childishly.

"Mind if I remind you girls that the headmaster has requested you here for an important reason so please behave." The voice appeared to originate from a matured woman, who didn't sound like she was in any mood for childish games as each of her words was cold as ice.

"Now, now, Glynda…" The only male voice in the room finally spoke with a casual tone of voice, drawing Ash's attention.

 _'That voice.'_ The Pokémon Trainer's lips formed into a big smile as he instantly recognized who it was.

"But, Professor!"

"However, you're correct, Glynda. There is a reason why I asked you four girls here today in my office."

There was a pregnant pause. Ash pressed his ear firmly to the door, wondering why it suddenly became quiet.

"Starting today, we'll be having a special guest and he'll be staying at Beacon Academy for the next year, so I had better expect that you show him the same respect as you would to your fellow Huntsmen or Huntresses."

"So…he's going to be a student here? That's cool. I can't wait to meet him!"

"He must be an elite student from one of the other academies, isn't he, professor?"

"Is he hot?"

"Yang!"

"How about I let him introduced himself to you? Glynda, if you may." Ash heard high-heels clapping, and then the door suddenly opened, causing the young teen to stumble forward and fall flat to the floor on his face.

"Ow…," he groaned as he clutched his forehead, anime tears dangling from his eyes.

"A-hem!" A certain professor cleared her throat, drawing the Ash's attention as he slowly glanced up to meet her piercing, green eyes. She was a middle-aged woman with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face, wearing thin ovular glasses and teal hanging earrings. She was also wearing a white long-sleeved suit that exposed part of her chest with puffy sleeves, a black business skirt with black-brown stockings, black boots with brown heels, and a tattered cape.

Ash immediately stood upright to his feet and noticed that four girls were also staring at him.

"Hey!"

The Pokémon Trainer glanced over to the young, silver-eyed girl with dark red hair dressed in a black blouse, a black waist cincher with red lacing and a skirt with red trimmings, complete with a red cloak. "You must be the special guest Professor Ozpin was talking about. Hi, I'm Ruby!" she greeted with a chirpy smile on her face.

Ash returned the smile. "Yes, I'm A—"

Suddenly, Ruby got shoved out of the way by an older girl with long blonde hair and lilac eyes, dressed in a tan vest with gold piping over a yellow low-cut crop top, black shorts under her belt, which resembled a pleated skirt in the back, and brown knee-high platform boots with orange socks. She was also wearing an orange infinity scarf around her neck and fingerless black gloves.

"Hello~! I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister," she chimed with a big grin on her face. Purring seductively, she asked, "What's your name, cutie?"

"Um…" The young teen could feel his cheeks heating up. "I-I'm Ash."

"Ash, huh? Me likey."

His face turned bright red as a result. _'Why does she remind me of Brock?'_

"Hmph!" Someone snorted.

Ash quickly diverted his gaze away from Yang over to the young girl with ice blue eyes and long white hair pulled back in an off-center ponytail, dressed in a pale blue bolero jacket over a white thigh-length dress and white, heeled wedge boots. She also bore a crooked scar down her left eye. "So, you're the guest? I don't see anything special about you other than you're barely older than Ruby."

"Hey!" Her team leader pouted cutely.

The black-haired teen frowned deeply. "For your information, I'm turning seventeen next month." He got a sharp glare from the scarred heiress for his cheek.

"Oh, don't worry about Miss Little Ice Queen, Ash. She's always a stick in the mud," Yang teased with a smirk.

"Hey!"

Ash proceeded to fix his gaze to the final member of their team, who was another young girl with long, wavy black and cat-like amber eyes, dressed in a black-buttoned vest with coattails, a white sleeveless undershirt that exposed part of her midriff with white shorts, and black low-heeled boots with stockings. She was also wearing a black ribbon tied in the form of a bow and a detached scarf-like collar around her neck.

The black-haired girl took note of his stare and sent him a small smile. "Blake. It's nice to meet you, Ash."

The Pokémon Trainer returned the smile before he focused his attention on the male figure who was sitting behind his desk with a small smile of his own.

"Hello nephew, how was your trip?" the headmaster greeted casually, astonishing the four girls in the room.

"EEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" they shouted with widened eyes.

"You're Ozpin's nephew?" the Ice Queen marched up to the black-haired teen, her hands on her hips. "When were you going to tell us that, mister?"

"Uh, well…"

"That's correct, Miss Schnee." Ozpin came to his nephew's rescue, confirming his relationship with the boy. "Ash is indeed my nephew."

"Does that mean Ash is here to train to be a Huntsman?" Ruby asked curiously.

"A Huntsman?" Ash blinked confusedly, unsure what to make of the situation he was in.

"Not quite, Miss Rose." Ozpin answered simply, astonishing his student and her teammates.

"What do you mean, Professor?" Yang asked the question of which they were dying to know the answer.

The headmaster smiled and replied, "You see—Ash comes from the other part of the world which is oblivious to Vale and the other kingdoms' existence."

"Meaning…" The Ice Princess still didn't quite follow what the headmaster was trying to say.

"Truth to be told, Miss Schnee, Ash does not know about the Grimm, Huntsmen or Huntresses, and the history of Beacon Academy."

The revelation elicited a gasp from Ruby and her friends. "You serious, professor?"

"Quite serious, Miss Rose," Ozpin stated in a serious tone of voice. "Ash lives among magical creatures called Pokémon. Aptly enough, he's a Pokémon Trainer."

"Pokémon? Pokémon Trainer?" Yang was clearly lost.

"I think I heard about them before…," Blake suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention to her. "In a book, I once read."

"You know… Now that I think about it, I do recall playing a game with Yang back when we were little. Something called Pokémon Trading Card?"

"Oh yeah! I remember that and I do remember always kicking your butt and making you cry, Ruby." Yang grinned.

"Yang!" Ruby pouted angrily at her older sister.

"Just saying, little sis."

"That's cute and all, but what does all of that have to do with him being here?!" the Ice Queen growled angrily as she pointed her finger rudely at Ash.

"I was getting there, Weiss," Ozpin chuckled in amusement. Then he became serious again. "There are times where we must rely on an outside source to help us in our time of need."

"What do you mean by that, Professor?" Ruby was the one who asked.

"What the headmaster is trying to say is—" Glynda finally spoke as she drew Ruby and her teammates' attention to her. "—you four won't be enough to stop the danger that's coming to Beacon."

"What! How could you say something like that?" Yang growled angrily. "We're born ready to defend Beacon, isn't that right, girls?" Her teammates nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! Why do you suddenly doubt us, Professor?!" Ruby frowned.

"I do not doubt in any of you girls," Ozpin said honestly as he stood up from his seat, "but this is one situation that not even the four kingdoms together will be able to stop."

"What are you talking about, Professor?" Weiss asked the headmaster, who immediately ignored her question and walked up to his nephew.

"One thousand years ago, Beacon faced a similar threat that we're facing right now, but thanks to one legendary hero Beacon was saved. This is where you come in, Ash." Ozpin stood before the young teen and smiled.

"Me?!" Ash blinked confusedly, growing a bit concerned that his uncle was having too much confidence in him. How could he possibly help? He didn't have any of his Pokémon with him. "Uh, uncle, I wish I could help, but in your letter you told me to leave all my Pokémon behind. Plus, I'm not much of a fighter if you didn't notice already."

The headmaster simply chuckled. "That may be true, but what you don't realize is that you were born special, Ash."

"Tell me about it...," Ash grumbled under his breath, heaving a tired sigh. This wasn't the first someone told him that he was special and he knew it wasn't going to be the last time, either.

"Don't sell yourself short, Ash. When I first met you when you were four, I noticed your Aura and how unusual it was at your age."

"My…Aura?"

Ozpin smiled again. "That's right, Ash. That's why I requested you to come here, to help you master your Aura."

"For what reason?" Ash asked without thinking.

The headmaster didn't hesitate to give his nephew a straightforward answer. "To train you to become the next Aura Guardian of Beacon."

 **A/N: Well….talk about starting off with a bang! Ash is now aware of his destiny. And what major threat is Ozpin talking about? Should you be worried about Ash? Who's going to train him? Is Delia aware of any of this? Will Ash have any of his Pokémon with him during his stay at Beacon? Will he receive a Pokémon egg from Ozpin on his birthday? So many questions, so little time! I hope you enjoy the first chapter! As for the poll on my profile, I'll leave it posted until the end of February. So don't forget to vote!**

 **P.S. – Give the proofreading and editing credit to my beta-reader,** _Kiwami no Sengoku_ **.**

 **Aoi Hyoudou** (formerly known as Johan07)


	2. Roommates

**Aoi Hyoudou:** Well, well…it seems this story is a success, in some degree. Please continue with the voting in the poll posted on my profile. The pairing determines everything! Ash won't be meeting Jaune and the others until the next chapter, along with a certain bully and his gang. This chapter is pretty much Ash getting used to Team RWBY after discovering his destiny. Enjoy!

 **Roommates**

{…}

"Aura…Guardian?" Ash stood literally speechless when his uncle broke the news that he was staying at Beacon Academy, to learn and train to become the next Aura Guardian of Beacon. No one expected this, not even him. Team RWBY didn't know what to make of this, either. They thought their headmaster was messing with their heads, but when they noticed his expression on his face they knew that he was serious, very much so that he didn't crack a smile.

"Um, professor?" Ozpin fixed his gaze onto Ruby, who was struggling to find the right words to ask her question.

"Yes, Ruby?" The middle-aged man gave the young girl an encouraging smile, to keep her mind at ease.

"Um, well, by all means, what is an Aura Guardian?" she asked, somewhat feeling a bit embarrassed asking the question.

"Aura Guardian is a special individual, who is capable of manipulating and mastering aura to its fullest potential. He or she is also known as the Guardian of the Wave, who said to rival the powers of the Four Maidens. The only legendary hero who's known by this title is Sir Aaron." Everyone gawked at Blake, who suddenly shared the information that she learned from her studies as she glanced to Ozpin. "Isn't that right, professor?" Ozpin smiled.

"Very good, Blake." It seems someone did her homework.

"So, wait…Are you telling us that _this_ kid here-" Ash's lips slowly twisted into a frown when he heard Weiss call him a 'kid'. "-is supposed to be the next Sir Aaron, who's going to save us all from a threat we don't know about?!" She stared incredulously at the veteran Huntsman.

"In a way, yes." Ozpin answered simply in his casual tone of voice.

"I find that hard to believe."

The headmaster chuckled in amusement. "In time, you'll understand, Weiss." The Ice Queen frowned.

What's that supposed to mean?

"Tell me Ash-" Ozpin glances back to his nephew, drawing his attention. "-Were there times you had to rely on your aura?"

"Uh, well…" Ash blinked, but fell into deep thought, thinking back from all his past Pokémon journeys. There were several occasions that crossed his mind where he had to rely on his aura. The first time was of course when he met Sir Aaron's Lucario and helped it restore Mew's powers, in order to prevent the Tree of the Beginning from dying after a few mishaps. However, in the process Lucario sacrificed its life, which was a moment he wanted to forget altogether. Next, he relied on his aura to track down a special Riolu, which was captured by the evil Pokémon Hunter J. After several confrontations with J and her henchmen, he managed to rescue Riolu and returned it back to its homeland. Afterwards, he cannot remember the last time he relied on his aura since his Sinnoh journey with Brock and Dawn. He felt like it fell dormant over the years because of his lack of training. "There were a few times, but that was about it." he finally replied.

Ozpin seems satisfied with his nephew's answer. "I see,"

"But-" He glances to his feet, doubt still glinting in his eyes as he believed that he wasn't going to live up to his uncle's expectations. When he felt a hand touch his shoulder, he glanced back up and noticed that his uncle was staring in his eyes with a smile.

"I know this is a lot for you to take in, but please bear with it." Ash sighed tiredly, palming his face and massaging his temples.

"I'll try."

"I know you will. You're my nephew, after all." The Pokémon Trainer flinched, but smiled. That was true. He was indeed his nephew. "Now then-" The headmaster removed his hand from the teen's shoulder and stared at his nephew and Team RWBY once more. "-We'll start your training in a few days, for now rest up. You must be tired from your long flight."

"Okay." Ash didn't argue. He did feel a bit sleepy from his long, fourteen hour flight away from home. "So…am I staying with you, then?" As if it was a dumb question to ask, but he felt like asking, anyway.

However, his uncle gave him an apologetic smile. "Not quite."

"Huh?!"

"This is why I requested Team RWBY here. Girls-" Ruby and her team glanced at their headmaster, who was about to deliver the shocking news that they were about to have a temporary roommate. "-while we wait until a room is available for Ash, he'll be bunking with you four, for the time being."

"W-W-WWHHHHHAAAATTTT?!" Ash and Weiss had the same expression on their faces, unlike the rest who didn't seem to mind of having another roommate in their dorm room.

"That's fine by us, professor." Ruby said with a cheery smile on her face.

"Ruby!" Weiss glared at her team leader, fuming at the mouth that her idiot partner would easily accept the terms of having a boy bunking with them, for who knows how long.

"Ash's sleeping in the same room with us?" Yang cupped her chin and grinned mischievously, a perverted thought came to her mind as she glanced at her new roommate with a look that didn't go unnoticed.

Ash gulped nervously.

As for Blake, she didn't care one or another if they were sharing rooms with Ash.

It could be interesting.

"Um…uncle, maybe I should-"

"It's Professor Ozpin to you, young man." Glynda immediately cut the teen off with a sharp glare.

Ash flinched.

"She's right, Ash." The Pokémon Trainer glances back to his uncle. "While you're staying at my academy and during school hours, you will start referring to me as Professor Ozpin or your headmaster, never uncle. I don't want any of my other students to think I'm showing favoritism towards you. Do you understand?"

"I guess it makes sense." Ozpin smiled.

"Good, now what is your question?"

"Well-"

"Am I the only one who's against this?!" Weiss immediately screamed, quickly cutting the young teen off as everyone glanced at the fuming Schnee heiress.

"What's the deal, Snow Angel?" Yang demanded with a tired sigh, folding her arms together and pressing them against her chest.

"He's a boy!"

"And?" Ruby joined the conversation and blinked confusedly, still not quite following what her teammate's problem was.

"He can't stay with us!"

"Why not?" Yang was now giving her teammate a blank stare.

"Just because!" Weiss snapped with a growl, stomping her feet in annoyance and growing tired of the blonde teen.

"But Jaune and Ren are boys and they shared rooms with Pyrrha and Nora." Ruby pointed out.

"That's different!" Yang rolled her eyes and snorted.

"How's that any different than Ash bunking with us?"'

"Quiet, you!"

"I'll tell you what, Weiss. We promise we won't let Ash see you naked when you get dressed for bed, okay?" Yang teased.

Ash immediately turned away with his face turning bright red.

A shade of crimson appeared on Weiss's face, but she quickly shrugged it off and glared sharply at her teammate. "H-How dare you bring that up!" she hissed angrily with clenched teeth.

"Y-You know what…I think I should-" Ash was slowly backing away towards the door until Yang suddenly hooked her arm around his right.

"Not so fast, mister!" She flashed the young teen a grin.

Ash whimpered.

"That's right!" Ruby walked up to the Pokémon Trainer and hooked her arm around his left, matching her sister's grin. "We still haven't shown you where our room is. After all, starting today, you'll be living with us, Ash. So let's go!"

"Uhh, Ruby. Yang. You guys don't have to, really you don't. I can always-Hey! Stop pulling! OW!" The two sisters ignored their new roommate and dragged him out the room with an amused Blake and a fuming Weiss following behind, leaving Ozpin alone with Glynda.

The headmaster chuckled in amusement, feeling a bit sorry for his nephew as he walked up to his desk and picked up his coffee mug, taking a sip. Those four girls were a handful. Ash was going to need all the luck in Beacon just to survive around them.

Ozpin sighed, drawing his colleague's attention. "Professor?" Glynda looked genuinely concerned, wondering what was on his mind.

"Tell me, Glynda-" he began without looking at the blonde woman with a tired sigh. "-Do you think I'm selfish?" Was it a rhetorical question?

Glynda didn't hesitate to give her colleague her honest answer with a genuine smile. "No, Ozpin, you're not. Ash will understand why you're doing this, one day."

Ozpin returned the smile and glanced to his assistant. "Thank you, Glynda."

Meanwhile…

{…}

"Hey! Cut it out. That tickles!" Ash laughed hysterically flat on his back with a four-legged furry creature having his way with the teen's face with wet kisses. Upon arrival in Team RWBY's dorm room, and when Yang opened the room door with her Scroll, the poor teen was suddenly attacked by a small, canine-like creature with a black head, tricolored fur, gray eyes, and a short, stubby tail.

It was…

"Aww~ Zwei likes you, Ash!" Ruby cooed.

Indeed, it was Zwei, Ruby and Yang's pet dog, slobbering their new roommate's face with dog saliva.

"Hehe. I'm going to post this as my wall screen." Yang took a picture of the cute scene with her Scroll and began fiddling around her device.

"Yang, don't you dare! EW! He licked me in my mouth!"

Weiss actually cracked a small smile at the scene while Blake was hiding behind her, hissing now and then at Zwei, which went unnoticed.

"Okay, Zwei, down boy." Ruby walked up to her pet dog and scooped him up into her arms as he was still wagging his tail and barking happily at Ash.

Yang helped the Pokémon Trainer up to his feet as he wiped the dog slobber off his face. She grinned. "No more standing around, time to see our room so get in there, Ash!" The blonde Huntress shoved her new roommate forward as he stumbled through the doorway and into the dorm room, followed by the girls.

Ash observed his new living space, as he expected. It was a typical girl's room. The walls were decorated with beautiful artworks and several boys band posters, although the room did look a bit cramped, especially for four people-five if you counted him now. There were also two study desks near the doorway, along with a window and, a bookshelf in between the four beds. And speaking of the beds, for some apparent reason, they were acting like bunk beds. Well, one bed, in which was dangling in the air by several ropes and bedsheets while the other one was on top of another bed, held in place by stacks of textbooks.

"So…what do you think, Ash?" Yang spoke with a grin, drawing his attention back to her.

"Uh, well, it's nice, but kinda small."

"I know really…" Weiss agreed.

Ruby shrugged. "You'll get used to it. In the meantime, sorry Ash, but you're sleeping on the floor." She gave him an apologetic smile. "But don't worry we'll let you borrow some of our spare sheets and a pillow."

"Thanks, Ruby." Ash smiled.

"Unless…" Oh, boy…He didn't like that look on Yang's face one bit as she leaned close to him, causing his cheeks to heat up. "You don't mind sharing a bed with one of us." she teased.

"W-W-What?!" His face was turning bright red.

Ruby frowned and walked up to her older sister, holding Zwei up close to her face as he slobbered the blonde girl with wet kisses. "H-Hey!" Yang quickly backed away from Ash and wiped the dog drool off her face as she glared sharply at her little sister. "Ruby!"

"As team leader, it's my duty to make sure Ash feels safe around us while he's here." the dark red haired girl declared.

"Don't get in my way, little sister!"

"Stop trying to molest Ash!"

"Oooooh!" Yang smirked smugly. "Is that jealously I heard from you, Ruby?"

"N-N-No!" A faint blush appeared on the team leader's face as she glared at her teasing sister. "I'm just looking out for him. Can't you see you're making him feel uncomfortable?"

Ash heaved a tired sigh as the sisters engaged in a heated argument. He glances to Weiss, who immediately turned away with an angry snort while Blake offered him a look that told you to bear with it. He sighed again.

It was going to be a long stay at Beacon Academy.

 **A/N: Well, let's hope Yang doesn't do anything to him when he sleeps. Anyway, some of you guys have been messaging me through the PM chat about the story, and I appreciate it. If you guys have some kind of concern or any suggestions about the story, don't hesitate to message me about it. I'm always on to check my messages. Next chapter, we will see Ash make new friends and bump into the school bully and his gang. After that, Ash will start his aura training.**


	3. New Friends

**Aoi Hyoudou:** Reviews continue to pour in. Thank you so much for all the likes. The poll on my profile about the story's pairing will close by the end of the first week of February so continue to cast your votes! As for this chapter, Ash will indeed meet Team JNPR, Team SSSN, and Team CRDL before his training starts. Enjoy!

 **New Friends**

{…}

"Ash…"

He moaned softly in his sleep, flinching a little.

"Ash!"

He groaned in a grumpy tone with his eyes still shut, shifting onto his side and turning away from Ruby and Yang, who were trying desperately to wake him up.

"Come on, Ash, please wake up! We're going to be late for class." Ruby pleaded with the sleeping Pokémon Trainer, who still refused to wake up.

"Five…more minutes," he responded sleepily.

"Fine, Ash, have it your way." Yang decided to go with a different approach as she crouched down to his sleeping form. She slowly lifted her hand up high over her head and then smacked the teen in the back of his head, not too hard, but strong enough to wake him up.

"OW!" Ash sat up and held his head. "Hey!" He glared at Yang with clenched teeth. "What was that for, Yang?!" She flashed him a grin.

"Good morning to you, too, sleepyhead. It's about time you woke up." The weary teen grumbled under his breath. "Here!" She tossed him a new set of clothes, which consisted of a black suit lined with gold, a pair of black pants, a blue vest, a white shirt, and a red tie.

Ash clumsily caught them and blinked at them until he glanced back to the two sisters for an explanation.

"Oh, that's right. Professor Goodwitch stopped by earlier and asked us to give you these." Ruby was the one who answered.

"Huh?!"

"Now that you're staying at Beacon for the entire year, Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch thought it was for the best if you start attending classes with us, starting today. You know, learning more about Vale and everything else that goes on around here. Fun stuff like that." Yang explained lamely.

Ash made a face.

"Now, now, Ashy, we've all had to suffer through boring lectures. You have to do it, too, so suck it up."

The Pokémon Trainer sighed dejectedly.

"Class doesn't start for fifteen minutes, so we'll be waiting outside. Come join us once you're ready. Okay, Ash?" Ruby smiled.

Reluctantly, Ash nodded with a weak smile. "Alright,"

"Unless…" Yang walked up to her roommate and leaned close to his ear as she whispered seductively, "You need someone to help you undress." Ash blushed.

"Uh..."

"Hey!" Ruby yanked her annoying older sister back and started pushing her out the room. "No fair, Ruby!" she protested.

"And I told you before, Yang, stop trying to molest Ash!" the dark red haired girl argued back.

"You need to stop being jealous!"

"We'll see you in a little bit, Ash." Ruby ignored the comment and glanced back to the Pokémon Trainer, who mouthed a 'thank you' to her. "Don't take too long, okay?"

"I won't." He smiled.

When the two sisters finally left the room, Ash sighed and glanced down at the uniform with a deep frown. _'Great…_ _'_

{…}

"Jeez…! What's taking him so long?!" Weiss glared sharply at the dorm room door with her arms folded together and pressed against her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. "It's been five whole minutes. We're going to be late because of him!"

Ruby and her team were waiting in the hallway for Ash.

"Oh, relax, Ice Queen." Yang, who was leaning on the wall with her arms crossed near the doorway, replied in annoyance. "Why are you in such a rush?"

Weiss glared daggers at her teammate and hissed venomously, "Because I have never been late to a lecture in my life, unlike some people I know."

"You don't think he went back to sleep, do you?" Ruby thought aloud, cupping her chin in deep thought.

"If he did, I'm going to give him such a lecture!" Yang rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Wow."

"Quiet, you!"

"Maybe he's scared you might molest him, Yang." Yang's face twisted into a deep frown as she fixed her gaze on her partner, who had a teasing smile on her face as she leaned on the opposite wall across from her.

"Not cool, Blake, you're starting to sound like Ruby."

"Hey guys, what are you doing out here?" a male voice suddenly asked. Team RWBY glanced to the source of the voice and noted that a young blonde teen and his team were poking their heads out of the doorway across from theirs.

"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby greeted her first friend with a cheerful smile on her face.

Team JNPR, dressed in their academy uniforms, walked up to their friends and noticed that Weiss ignored them as she fixed her gaze back on her team's dorm room door. "Uhh, what is Weiss doing?" Jaune asked for his team with a sweat drop.

"Oh, we're just waiting for Ash." Yang answered simply with a shrug.

"Ash?" The blonde Huntsman blinked. "Who's Ash?" His teammates were also curious.

"That's right…" They quickly fixed their attention on Ruby when she spoke. "You guys still don't know yet."

"Know what, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked.

"Do you guys remember the rumor that Ozpin invited a special guest to come to Beacon?" Team JNPR nodded. "Well, that special guest out to be Ozpin's nephew." Their eyes widened in surprise.

"No way…" Jaune's mouth gaped open like a fish out of water.

"Yes, way." Ruby giggled.

"And that's not all-" Jaune and his team glanced at Blake, who had a tiny smile on her face when she spoke. "-according to Professor Ozpin, Ash is supposed to be the next Aura Guardian." Ren and Pyrrha's eyes widened again.

"Did you just say Aura Guardian?!" they asked simultaneously.

"Uh, wait…You two know about the Aura Guardian?" Yang blinked in surprise.

"Well, yes." Ren began his explanation. "From where I live, we are quite familiar with the legend."

"And you know my family-" Pyrrha drew attention in her direction. "-we have a long history with aura, so it's no surprise we have a strong connection to the legend as well. In fact, some of my ancestors were friends with the original Aura Guardian, Sir Aaron." She smiled.

"Whoa. That's so cool, Pyrrha!" Jaune gawked at his teammate in amazement.

"Although-" The young Huntress cupped her chin in deep thought, looking a bit skeptical that Ozpin's nephew was the next Aura Guardian. "-are you positive that Ozpin's nephew is an Aura Guardian?"

"Well, to be honest, Pyrrha-" Ruby scratched her cheek sheepishly. "-even we're still not sure if Ash is one or not. The details are very unclear."

"I see."

"But still!" Nora said suddenly, drawing attention to her as she had a big smile on her face. "What's this new Aura Guardian like? Is he mean? Nice? Tall? Short? Cute? Ugly? Fat? Skinny? Tell us!" She bombarded Ruby's team with so many questions.

"Uh, well..."

"It's about time!" Team JNPR immediately looked past an irritated Weiss and noticed a young teen stepping out from Team RWBY's dorm room, dressed in his academy uniform with his notable red and white cap on his head.

"S-Sorry, Weiss." Ash chuckled nervously when she glared at him, giving the Schnee heiress an apologetic smile. "I was having trouble with my tie." She groaned and palmed her face in annoyance.

"You're an idiot." The latter made a face.

"Don't mind Snow Angel, Ash." Yang leaned off the wall and walked up to the Pokémon Trainer. "She's always cranky in the mornings." She grinned.

"Hey!"

"Oooooh~!" Nora marched up to Ozpin's nephew and leaned her face close to his, staring very, VERY deeply into his eyes and invading his personal space.

"Uhh…"

"So you're Ash, huh?"

"Y-Yes…?" he said awkwardly.

Nora grinned and backed away. "Hello, I'm Nora!"

"Huh?!" Ash blinked confusedly, but looked past the perky girl and noticed three more unfamiliar faces in the hallway.

Ruby took notice that Ash hasn't yet met Jaune and his team so she decided to introduce them to him. "Oh, right. This here is Team JNPR, Ash. Their room is across from ours. They are also our friends."

"Oh, I see." Ash smiled.

"Hey there-" Jaune walked up to the Pokémon Trainer and extended his hand out, offering a friendly handshake. "I'm Jaune." Ash gladly accepted it as they shook.

"Ren." Ren introduced politely with a small smile.

"And hello~! I'm Pyrrha." Pyrrha greeted Ozpin's nephew with a kind smile and a wave. "Ruby and her team told us all about you, Ash."

"Is that right?" Ash smiled uneasily.

The red haired Huntress nodded. "Yes, they mentioned that you're Ozpin's nephew and that you're an A-"

"Okay, we need to go!" Weiss rudely interrupted as she walked up to the black haired teen and snatched his wrist with a firm grip. "Right now or else we're going to be late!" She yanked him forward along with her as she dragged him off away from the group.

"OW! Weiss, stop pulling! That hurts!" Ruby and the others blinked, but shrugged as they quickly followed the pair to the Lecture Hall.

{…}

After attending his first class at Beacon and enduring a three-hour, boring lecture courtesy of Professor Port, Ash walked wearily through the hallways, hoping to meet up with Team RWBY in the Dining Hall. He had to stay behind an extra hour after Professor Port caught him sleeping during the lecture. The veteran Huntsman scolded the young teen for not taking his studies seriously, but he decided to give the latter a break since it was his first day, so instead he gave him an additional lecture for his trouble.

 _'_ _What a day…_ _'_ Ash thought with a tired sigh, completely exhausted with all the learning he endured in the last four hours of his life. All he wanted now was something to fill his empty stomach.

"Please, stop. I don't want any trouble." a voice belonging to a female student pleaded up ahead.

"Huh?!" Ash glanced forward and noticed a commotion taking place in the distance. There were four male students surrounding a female student, mocking her and treating her harshly.

"Please, stop!" one male with a shaved head and a light-green mohawk mocked, mimicking the girl's voice.

"I don't want any trouble." another male with long, combed back, dark blue hair taunted.

"Such a Faunus." A squinty-eyed teen snorted with a cold tone of voice.

"You Faunus are all the same-" a teen with burnt-orange hair ridiculed the poor girl harshly, who had long brown hair and a pair of noticeable rabbit ears on her head. Her brown eyes were shedding tears down on her cheeks. "-nothing but a freakin' eyesore!" He shoved her to the ground, causing Ash to run forward.

"Hey!" The four bullies narrowed their eyes at the Pokémon Trainer as he stood protectively in front of the girl and glared back at them. "I don't know what your deal is, but you need to stop picking on her right now!" he growled.

The strange girl gasped in surprise, staring at the black haired teen incredulously with widened eyes. She didn't understand why he was helping her all of a sudden. Didn't he realize what she was?

"I don't know who you are, but you need to mind your own business if you know what's good for you. You don't want to get hurt, do you?" the orange haired student threatened with a glare.

Ash stood his ground and glared back at the teen, who seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Hey, Cardin-" The teen glanced at his teammate with the mohawk. "-he's that kid everyone's been talking about."

"Are you sure?" His teammate nodded. His lips slowly curled into a smug smirk. "It all makes sense now." Then he shifted his gaze back to Ash. "So you're Professor Ozpin's nephew."

Ash said nothing.

"I must say-" Cardin snorted, studying the Pokémon Trainer from head to toe. "-I was expecting more of a badass Huntsman, not some weak wimp like you."

Ash glared sharply at the taunting Huntsman.

"But I guess beggars can't be choosers." He smirked.

"Hey Cardin." One of his other teammates suddenly interrupted.

"What?!" Cardin glowered at the dark blue haired teen, annoyed.

"Look!" The latter pointed his finger in the direction where they noted that several staff members were heading in their direction. Cardin gritted his teeth in frustration as he glanced back to Ash.

"Grr! This isn't over by a long shot, punk. Let's go, guys!" They sprinted off in a hurry, leaving the black haired teen behind with the girl.

Ash heaved a sigh of relief and smiled as he glanced back to the brown haired girl. He extended his hand out to her, offering her his trademark smile. "Here!" When she glanced up to meet his eyes, she flinched at the kind gesture. "Let me help you up." She hesitated at first, but finally accepted the offer as he pulled her up to her feet. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" She fidgeted around a bit as she stared at her feet and rubbed her arm shyly, hiding a faint blush.

"…Thank..." She struggled to find the right words to express her gratitude to him.

"Hm?" The Pokémon Trainer didn't quite catch that as he leaned forward a bit closer.

When the strange girl glanced back up to meet his eyes, she shouted unexpectedly, "THANK YOU!" Then she sprinted off quickly in the opposite direction, leaving behind a trail of dust and a baffled Ash.

"What was that all about?" He blinked.

{…}

In the Dining Hall, Ash rejoined Team RWBY and surprisingly, Team JNPR as they sat together and ate their meals in a large group. He grew closer with both teams as they shared stories with him about their everyday life in Beacon, from defending the streets of Vale against a Grimm invasion to Jaune showing up at Prom Night in a dress. The poor teen got goosebumps just picturing his blonde friend in a prom dress. Jaune didn't exactly have the figure to pull off a dress. Anyway, Ruby also mentioned that they had dealt with dangerous criminals like Roman Torchwick on several occasions in the past and rebellious organizations like the White Fang, which was a sensitive topic that Blake didn't wish to talk about, for some apparent reason. In return, the Pokémon Trainer shared some of his adventures with them. Everything from starting his Pokémon journey alongside a very cranky Pikachu and traveling through the various regions, winning Gym badges and competing in Pokémon Leagues, even describing his encounters with rare and legendary Pokémon. At one point, he brought up how he befriended one of the world's strongest Pokémon named Mewtwo on several occasions, in which he was able to change the latter's perspective on humankind as he hated the human scientists who created him from Mew's DNA for their own selfish purposes. Ruby and the others, including Weiss were really into his stories, never thinking that there were such interesting things outside of Vale. And when he mentioned that he had saved the world on several occasions, including the time when he was ten from a global catastrophe during his travels in the Orange Islands, Ruby and Nora believed that he was a hero just like in the storybooks. Even Yang, Blake, and Weiss couldn't believe that he was the same boy from six years ago who was shown on the broadcast throughout Remnant about the incident. Could they say they were quite impressed with him? Perhaps. Oh right…! He also mentioned that during the last six years of his journey to become a Pokémon Master, a comedy trio of criminals would always stalk him from region to region just to get their dirty hands on Pikachu and his other Pokémon. While most of the time they weren't taken seriously, he did consider them to be formidable foes, especially when they came up with a new crazy plan involving some sort of mecha.

"Wow, Ash, your life seems so amazing." Ruby gawked like a fangirl as her silver eyes were sparkled with admiration.

Ash chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head with a sweat drop. "Not really, I think you guys have a much more interesting life than I do, always dealing with Grimm and wielding cool weapons like Ruby's scythe."

"Come on, Ash," Blake giggled in amusement at the teen's modesty, drawing his attention. "Don't sell yourself short. You should feel proud about all the accomplishments you have achieved. That counts for something, right?" Ash smiled.

"Thanks, Blake." She returned the smile, but suddenly felt a strange feeling in her chest. She couldn't describe it, but it felt warm as she turned away with a small blush appearing on her face.

"Yeah, Ash-" Yang stood up from her seat and walked over behind the black haired teen as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her face close to his. "-don't ever sell yourself short. You're perfect just the way you are." she said seductively.

"Yang…" Ash blushed deeply, his face turning a shade of crimson as he felt her breathing tickling the back of his neck, sending a cold chill down his spine. "Y-You're…too close."

Yang grinned in amusement. "You know you like it."

"I must say-" Weiss's voice suddenly interrupted as the pair glanced over to the Schnee heiress, who was busy filing her nails without glancing at them. "-even I had to admit you live an interesting lifestyle." Ash smiled, but then she added, "Although…you're still not good enough to meet our standards." He made a face.

What's that supposed to mean?

"Hey Ash," Jaune's voice immediately drew the Pokémon Trainer's attention as he fixed his gaze across the table and glanced at his blonde friend. "Maybe sometime you could show me a few pointers on how to become a Pokémon Trainer."

"Me too," Pyrrha suddenly joined the conversation. "I would love to hear more about Pokémon, Ash."

"Ooh~! Ooh~! Me too as well!" Nora jumped up and down in her seat with a big grin on her face.

Sighing dejectedly, Ren gave Ash a tired smile. "I suppose I'm in, too. Someone has to make sure Nora behaves."

"Hey!" Nora puffed out her cheeks and pouted angrily at her childhood friend.

Ash flashed Team JNPR a grin. "Sure,"

"Hey, losers! What's up?" The group of friends immediately shifted their gaze to the source of the voice and noted that four unique male individuals were walking over towards their table. The one with blonde hair, who had addressed the party moments ago, caught the Pokémon Trainer's immediate interest because he had…a monkey tail, sporting the same color of his hair! When his team walked up to the table, he glanced over in Blake's direction and winked at her playfully. "Hey, Blake."

Blake gave the latter a genuine smile, a visible blush appearing on her face.

"Hey there, Weiss," His best friend, who was sporting a messy light blue hairstyle and a pair of yellow goggles on his head, tried his luck with the Ice Queen, flashing her a flirtatious smile, followed by a wink.

Weiss rolled her eyes, but looked amused by the latter's approach.

"Jeez! You two just need to give it up already," the dark tanned teen with green hair and yellow eyes, dressed in a white and green long coat with asymmetrical sleeves and a pair of dark pants with a yellow belt, chuckled in amusement.

"I completely agree with Sage. You two are way out of your league," the team member with red hair and red markings around his left eye snickered with a smirk, he was dressed in a white sleeveless shirt and light gray pants with a red coat draped over his left side.

"Very funny, guys," The monkey-tailed teen frowned deeply at his teasing teammates. He finally took note of Ash's presence and blinked confusedly, "Hey, who's this guy?" His best friend elbowed him hard in the ribs for being so dense. "Ow! Hey Neptune, what was that for?!" He rubbed his sore spot and glared at the blue haired teen.

The latter rolled his eyes and responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "Sun, it's quite obvious who he is."

"It is?"

Neptune palmed his face and shook his head with an exasperated sigh. "Dude, he's Ozpin's nephew."

"Is…that so?" Sun slowly processed the information in his thick skull until he grinned. "Well, I'll be. You're him?" He didn't receive an immediate response because Ash was too occupied staring at his tail, which didn't go unnoticed by the group. "Uh, dude? Are you alright?"

Blake chewed her bottom lip, knowing that Ash was going to bring up a topic she didn't feel comfortable talking about.

"Is it normal for you to have a tail?" The monkey-tailed teen blinked.

"Uh, well, of course, since if you didn't notice, I'm a Faunus." he replied awkwardly with a frown. "Why, you have a problem with that?" He sent a cold glare in the Pokémon Trainer's direction.

' _A…_ _Faunus?'_ Ash thought momentarily, recalling the earlier incident involving him and the bullies. They too brought up the word 'Faunus' when they were picking on the rabbit-eared girl in the hallway. Was it possible they were linked to a much bigger picture? He needed to find out.

"Not really." He shrugged with Yang still clinging onto him, for obvious reasons. "I think you look cool-" He smiled, but then added, "-although I do want to know what a Faunus is."

"Wait…You don't know about the Faunus?" Sun was clearly surprised, unsure what to make of it.

"That's why I'm asking."

The monkey-tailed Faunus heaved an exasperated sigh. "Dude, I don't know where you've been, but Faunus are-Mmph!"

Acting instinctively, Blake stood up from her seat and sprinted over to the blonde Faunus. She quickly clasped her hand over his mouth, preventing him from spurting out another word as he flailed his arms in an increasingly frantic fashion, due to lack of oxygen. Ignoring her fellow Faunus, she glanced back to Ash and said quickly, "Don't mind him, it's nothing!" The Pokémon Trainer tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Huh?"

"W-We'll see you guys later. I just remembered that there was something I forgot to do." She dashed out the Dining Hall while dragging Sun along with her, leaving the party perplexed at her strange behavior.

"What was that all about?" Ruby was the one who asked.

The party shrugged as they went back to their own conversation with the, exception of Ash, who couldn't help but stare in the direction that Blake had run off to with Sun, a growing look of concern plastered on his face.

Was it something he said?

{…}

Outside the Dining Hall, Blake finally released her grip around Sun's mouth, allowing the poor blonde to exhale as he gasped for oxygen. "B-Blake, what was that all about?" he asked with a raspy voice, his voice slowly returning to normal after taking a few deep breaths. "That's so unlike you to panic like that back there." He frowned.

"I know…and I'm sorry." She gave her fellow Faunus a sincere apology and continued, "I just couldn't allow you to tell Ash about us. It's too soon."

"He'll eventually find out, so why not?" The blonde Faunus didn't quite understand her reasoning.

"It's best if he didn't know about our kind." she murmured quietly. "It's not his business, after all."

"But what happens if he does find out, Blake? What then?!" he demanded with a frustrated sigh.

"Then I'll handle it!" The black haired Faunus glared sharply with a hiss as the blonde teen flinched under her glare. "I'll take responsibility for whatever happens when the time comes."

"Blake…" Sun sighed exasperatedly, but chewed his bottom lip, wondering if there was another reason behind her strange behavior. "Is…there a chance you like this guy?"

"D-Don't be ridiculous, Sun!" She was taken aback by the sudden question as her cheeks were burned brightly from embarrassment and anger. "It's not like that at all, we're just…friends, I guess."

"Then why you care so much?!"

"Because…I-You know what, I'm done talking about this." Blake turned away and began walking off.

"Blake!" She ignored him and kept walking down the hallway. "Blake…" Sun stared at her back with a growing look of concern on his face.

{…}

 **Omake #1: Never Piss Off Pikachu!**

Cardin glanced down at a familiar, yellow rodent as he squeaked innocently at the Huntsman. The arrogant teen smirked smugly. "How cute, a mutated rodent wants to take me on? Ha! Don't make me laugh." The Pokémon glared sharply at his cocky attitude. "How about you run along you oversized battery charger before I sic my pet cat on you. Or better yet, do me a favor and charge my Scroll. I could always need a backup charger." A vein throbbed on the rodent's forehead, strongly implying that the Electric-type's patience had finally reached its end.

"PIIKKKKA-CHHHHHUUUUUUUUU!"

"GYYYYYYAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cardin didn't see it coming as Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt at him, electrocuting every inch of his sorry frame as electricity coursed through his veins. He immediately fell backwards in a rather comical fashion with swirls in his eyes, smoke literally steaming out from his unconscious form.

Ash arrived on the scene and shook his head in disbelief. "Jeez! And here I thought I was the dumb one."

 **A/N: Yeah…the omake wasn't really my idea. Someone requested it, not really my best work, to be honest, but at least it's out of the way. I might work on an omake for every three chapters, but I'm still not sure yet. What do you guys think? As for the chapter, yup…! It seems tension is in the air. And once again, Yang has to be best the girl, although the voting is still open until Sunday, and so far Ash/Yang/Blake looks to be the route the story will be taking. However, I won't leave Ruby and Weiss out, as there will be moments for them to bond with Ash, but it's still early. Anything can happen from here until Sunday. For all we know, Ash/Yang/Ruby could be the pairing. After all, it's currently behind by one vote! Next chapter is the beginning of Ash's aura training. I'm thinking about splitting it into three or four parts since I want to use at least one chapter for him to receive the Pokémon egg from Ozpin. Don't you agree?**

 **P.S. – Give the proofreading and editing credit to my beta-reader,** _Vandenbz_ **.**

 **Aoi Hyoudou** (formerly known as Johan07)


	4. Training - Part I

**Aoi Hyoudou:** The POLL IS NOW CLOSED! And you guys have spoken! The story's pairing is…a tie between Ash/Yang/Blake and Ash/Yang/Ruby? Hmm…That is a problem. Most likely, I will give the poll a few more days, but cutting out the other choices that didn't make it to the final two. Sounds fine, yes? Anyway, enjoy!

 **Training**

 **I**

{…}

The next day, Ash was summoned to Ozpin's office, not because he was in any trouble or got caught falling asleep again during Professor Port's lecture. No...There was a significant reason why Glynda Goodwitch suddenly pulled him out in the middle of the lecture and accompanied him to the headmaster's office.

The real reason was…

"Hello, nephew," Ozpin greeted his nephew with a smile in a casual tone of voice as he sat behind his desk and stared at the black haired teen, who was standing before him with Glynda right by his side.

"Hello, un-I mean…Professor Ozpin." Ash returned the smile.

Ozpin chuckled in amusement. "Relax, Ash, you can still call me "uncle" when we're alone." Glynda frowned, which didn't go unnoticed by the latter. "It's fine, Glynda," He reassured his fellow colleague with a smile. She sighed dejectedly, but said nothing as she knew it was futile arguing with the man.

"So…why am I here?" Ash asked carefully, not wanting to sound rude in front of the two adults.

The headmaster smiled. "Down to business, I see." He became serious. "Very well, I requested Professor Goodwitch to pull you out of class today because I've decided to move your training a day early."

"Oh?" His nephew blinked. "So…when I'm starting?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Now,"

"Now?" Ash was clearly surprised.

Ozpin nodded and glanced at the veteran Huntress. "Glynda, if you please." The blonde woman walked up to his desk and scooped up a pile of clothes resting on top of it as she walked back to the black haired teen and held it out to him.

"Here," He gradually accepted the new set of clothes from her and blinked. "Go change." she told the latter with a poker-faced expression on her face.

"Umm…"

"Now, Mr. Ketchum!" She raised her voice a little.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Ash quickly darted out the room, not wanting to upset the blonde woman any further.

A few minutes later, the now hatless Pokémon Trainer reentered the office and dawned a new look, which consists a navy blue V-neck shirt, gray sweatpants, a pair of black Kung Fu shoes, and a flowing navy blue sash tied around his waist. Amazingly, his new outfit felt very light as he tugged his shirt and tapped his foot to the ground, which was unusual for a typical set of clothes.

Ozpin smiled as he stood up from his seat and grabbed his cane near his desk. "Now that you've changed, please follow me, Ash." he stated casually.

Ash glanced at his uncle and inquired, "To where?" He was quite interested where they were going.

The headmaster simply chuckled. "You'll see,"

Ash blinked.

{…}

The elevator ride to Beacon Academy's underground chamber was awkward, REALLY awkward as he was standing in-between Ozpin and Glynda, glancing back and forth. He was hoping one of them would explain where they were going, but alas…no one said a word nor did they spare him a glance. He also noted that there was no elevator music, like the elevators back in his Pokémon journey whenever he visited a department store and used an elevator to reach the top floor, they would always play some kind of music to keep their guests and shoppers from being bored. _Nope!_ This elevator ride was a simple one, no music at all! When it finally reached its destination, it opened and they stepped through.

Ozpin and Glynda led the Pokémon Trainer through a long hallway as he observed his new surroundings, completely astonished that a massive chamber was hidden beneath the school. Who else was aware of this other than his uncle and Professor Goodwitch? They walked and walked, which felt like hours. As they continued to walk through the hall, Ash noticed another hallway, which led to a corridor dimly lit by wall-mounted torches that cast a pale green light. When asked what was down there, both professors simply disregarded his question and told him to keep walking. He stared at the pair suspiciously, knowing that they were hiding something that they didn't want him to find out just yet.

The party approached a door at the end of the hall. It opened and they walked through. Ash was astonished what he stumbled upon once they were inside. It was a built-in dome, specially designed just for…him? He noted a training ground site in the distance, surrounded by an artificial forest with vast trees. There was also a spring with a flowing waterfall. When he glances up, the dome was simulating a bright, blue sky, even mimicking the warm temperature. But the most notable part of the environment was the gravity, it was very dense. It was giving him a difficult time just to keep pace with his uncle and Professor Goodwitch as they walked up to a flat boulder.

"Here we are," the headmaster proclaimed as he and Glynda both glanced back at his nephew, who was clearly out of breath as he was bending over on his knees with sweat streaming down his face. "Tired already, Ash?"

Ash chuckled wearily as he glanced up and grinned. "Nah, I'm fine," he lied through his teeth between heavy pants. "Just need to catch my breath, that's all." He straightened his posture.

"Good," Ozpin smiled. "In the next three months, you'll be training here."

"Only three months?"

"Hopefully, three months will be enough," said confidently the headmaster, having faith in his nephew that he will able to complete his training within the timetable. "After all, you're Sir Aaron's descendant."

Ash's face twisted into a deep frown. "Are you sure, uncle? I mean…I met someone before who looked exactly like Sir Aaron. His name is Riley and he can use aura. Wouldn't he be more of a better choice than me?"

"While your friend does sound like the obvious choice, I wouldn't change my decision about you, regardless." Ozpin chuckled in amusement. "I still believe that your aura is very compatible to Sir Aaron's."

"How do you know?" the Pokémon Trainer asked with a hint of hesitation.

"I just know," Ozpin replied simply, leaving no room for argument.

Ash sighed dejectedly.

"Anyway-" The headmaster returned his focus back to the main topic, regaining his nephew's attention. "-your first lesson today is…meditating."

"Meditating?" The black haired teen blinked.

"That's right, Ash, for the next ten days I want you to meditate your mind, body, soul, and aura with nature. Sounds simple enough, right?"

Surprisingly, it was.

Ozpin might not be aware of his nephew, but Ash does have experience with meditation on several occasions during his days as a Pokémon Trainer, meditating with Pikachu, Infernape, Pignite, and of course…Ash-Greninja, in order to prepare for Gym battles and challenges. So, this shouldn't be new to him. However, he didn't know if he'll able to meditate naturally under this type of environment with the gravity being so dense. That still remains to be seen, but he'll try to work it out, somehow.

Ash nodded, putting a smile on his uncle's face. "Very good, now please take your seat on this boulder right here." He instructed the teen, who obliged as he walked up to the flat boulder and sat comfortably on it, Indian-style.

"Now, what?"

Ozpin chuckled. "Now-You'll be meditating in this exact spot for five days, to see how it goes before moving your location to somewhere else."

"For how long?"

"Eight hours a day should be a good start." The headmaster smiled.

"Eight hours?!" Ash's mouth gaped out like a fish out of water.

"I didn't say your training was going to be easy, Ash." His nephew made a face. "Also, I'll be sending Glynda every now and then, to check on your progress." The latter immediately flinched nervously as the blonde woman glared in his direction.

' _Great…'_ he thought with a tired sigh.

"As for me, I won't be staying around to witness your training because I'm obligated to my duties as headmaster." Ozpin spoke when he noticed the frown on his nephew's face. Then he added, "But don't worry, I promise I'll be here to start your next lesson."

"Okay…" Ash sounded a bit disappointed.

"Good luck, Ash. Come along, Glynda." Ozpin and Glynda walked off, leaving the poor teen alone sitting on his rock.

"Alright!" Ash slapped his cheeks, trying to motivate himself. "Let's do this!" He straightened his posture as he inhaled a deep breath and sighed, slowly shifting into a comfortable position and relaxed. _'Meditate.'_ He gradually closed his auburn eyes as his breathing matched his heartbeat. _'Me-di-tate…'_ He repeated it over and over again in his mind, hoping to block the boredom lingering in the air _'MED-I-TATE!'_

{…}

One hour later, per Ozpin's request Glynda returned to the training dome to check on the Pokémon Trainer's progress. The sight she stumbled upon when she arrived at the teen's location was really intolerable. Her right eye twitched violently as she noticed that Ash fell asleep in his spot, snoring softly with his arms crossed and a small trail of drool dangling from his mouth.

"Mr. Ketchum!" She lost her composure, startling the poor teen awake as he jolted and glanced around frantically with a dazed expression on his face.

"Huh?! What?!" He eventually locked eyes with Glynda as she glared sharply at him. "Oh…Hey there, professor," he greeted nervously.

"Mr. Ketchum, why aren't you meditating?" Ash made a face.

"Because it's boring," he whined childishly.

She sighed exasperatedly as she pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly annoyed with the teen's lack of motivation. "Sometimes training isn't fun and games, Mr. Ketchum. Please take your training seriously." He frowned.

"But-"

"No buts, Mr. Ketchum, go back to your meditation at once, or else I'll force you to skip lunch and dinner altogether until you get in all eight hours for the day." she threatened.

"You're not serious, are you?" One quick glance at her face and he knew she was dead serious. "Okay, okay, I'll meditate!" He immediately straightened his composure.

Glynda's lips twisted into a small smile. "Good and to ensure you stay on task, I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"What?!" Ash gasped in surprise. One glare from the blonde woman immediately shut the teen up. "F-Fine," he groaned with a tired sigh. Reluctantly, he shut his eyes and relaxed, wishing the day would end already. When he peeked an eye open, he noticed that Glynda was glaring at him. He quickly shut it close with a sweat drop.

' _This is going to be a long day.'_ he thought wearily.

{…}

' _What a day…'_ Ash dragged both feet through the Dorms' hallways with an exhausted expression on his face at some ungodly hour in the night, followed by his stomach rumbling with hunger. His first day of training didn't go as smoothly as he hoped for because of Glynda's strict supervision. He still couldn't believe she forced him to spend the whole day and clearly the whole night until one in the morning to practice his meditation, costing him a meal.

All he wants now is some rest, praying that his stomach can survive until morning for a big breakfast.

When he finally walked up to Team RWBY's dorm room door and reached for the doorknob, he noticed that it was locked when he twisted the knob to the right. _'Great…Just my luck!'_ He ran a hand through his messy ebony hair in frustration. With no Scroll of his own to access his identification, he was simply locked out of the room. He could try knocking and hoping one of the girls would open the door for him, but then…he would've to contend with one cranky Weiss. His best option is…to sleep in the hallways. While it wasn't an ideal place to begin with, it was better than sleeping in the cold outside.

Reluctantly, he rested his head on the carpet floor and curled up into a small ball, hoping that sleep would take over his fatigue form.

His stomach growled again.

It was going to be a long night.

{…}

Morning arrived and Ash groaned weakly flat on his stomach with bloodshot eyes and heavy bags dangling underneath them. His restless body and stomach kept him up all night, denying him several hours of sleep. Then he sensed someone crouched down to his level and smacked him in the back of his head, not too hard, but hard enough to jolt him up to his feet.

"OW! Hey!" The somnolent youth rubbed his aching head and fixed his gaze forward as he noticed four familiar ladies were standing before him in their academy uniforms.

It was Team RWBY.

"See girls, I told you he was still alive." Yang teased with a grin.

"Ash, what were you doing sleeping on the floor?" Ruby asked.

"The door was locked last night. I couldn't get in." he answered groggily.

"Oh, that's right. You still don't have a Scroll yet."

"Why didn't you knock, Ash? Afraid Yang might molest you if you did?" Blake teased with a tiny smile on her face.

"N-N-NO! I was just afraid what Weiss might do to me if I woke her up." Weiss looked really offended as she placed both fists on her hips and glared sharply at the teen.

"H-How dare you accuse me of such a thing!" Yang rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Ash does make a good point. You're cold as ice because you're Ice Queen. Get it!" Ash and her teammates groaned at her bad pun. "Or…how about this? You would make a good Ice-type Pokémon Trainer because you always give guys the cold shoulder."

"Yang-" Ruby shook her head at her older sister's lousy attempts to be funny. "-please, stop."

"Oh, come on Ruby! I thought I nailed it." Yang pouted angrily at her little sister.

"A-Anyway-" Ash suddenly interrupted the two sisters before they engaged in a silly argument. "-does anyone know what time is it?"

Blake pulled out her Scroll and read the time on the screen. "It's 8:40." Then she glanced at the Pokémon Trainer and asked curiously, "Why, Ash?" His eyes widened when he realizes something.

He was late!

He was supposed to meet Glynda at 8:30 A.M. in Ozpin's office, to start his second day of training.

"Oh, no! I'm late! I'll see you guys later." He sprinted off quickly in the opposite direction, leaving behind a perplexed Team RWBY.

{…}

After a brief stop at the Dining Hall to catch a quick breakfast, Ash raced over to his uncle's office where he was confronted by one aggravated Glynda, who glared daggers in his direction for his tardiness. "Sorry I'm late! Are you mad with me, professor?" he asked with a piece of toast in his mouth.

"What do you think?" she deadpanned.

"Right…" He lowered his head in defeat.

{…}

His second day of training didn't start off with a bang, either. Just like the first day, he had to spend an all-nighter, to get in all eight hours of meditation for the day. He was scolded for falling asleep several times.

On the third day, he did show a slight improvement in his meditating, lasting up to three hours before losing focus once again with Glynda's constant glaring, causing him to restart from the beginning, which led to a third straight all-nighter in a row.

On the fourth day, in order to prove the blonde woman wrong that he wasn't a nuisance, he sat comfortably on his rock and blocked all distractions around, including Glynda's presence. He relaxed his breathing and kept his mind focus on one thing: his aura and nothing else. He surpassed the four hour mark, earning his lunch, but when he tried to push forward, he simply couldn't go any further because of boredom. Glynda was clearly annoyed that he was still allowing boredom to be a huge distraction to his training, although she did look quite impressed that he was making progress in just a few days since day one. That counted for something.

On the fifth day, Ash sat Indian-style calmly on the boulder, eyes shut and his breathing in rhythm with his heartbeat. Distractions were no longer the problem as he learned his past mistakes from the previous four days and used them as his strength to get past four hours without stopping for a lunch break. Glynda was impressed how much he improved just from yesterday, believing that he was finally taking his training more seriously than before. As the day quickly approached dinner time, the veteran Huntress noticed that the teen's body was emitting a faint blue light, strongly implying that his aura was starting to manifest. However, the blue glow quickly vanished when she heard the latter's stomach growling, breaking his concentration.

Ash blushed and rubbed his head sheepishly with a nervous laugh as he stared at the blonde woman.

Glynda rolled her eyes, but cracked a small smile.

At least he's making a good progress.

The next day, a shirtless Ash sat Indian-style with both eyes closed shut on a boulder in the middle of a flowing waterfall as rushing water was streaming down against his neck and back. He groaned with clenched teeth as the freezing water was touching his bare skin. The purpose of this meditation was to strengthen his concentration. Thirty minutes have already passed and it seems he was at his limit, slowly losing his composure as the raging waterfall swept him off the boulder and into the spring. When he resurfaced for air and coughed frantically, he glanced over in Glynda's direction and grinned sheepishly with a nervous laugh.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

On second thought…maybe he wasn't making good progress at all.

At the end of the day, he fell into the spring water several times.

{…}

The following day, he tried his luck once more, hoping to make up for all the mishaps that occurred the other day. He sat in his usual position with both eyes closed shut, using the breathing method to relax as the flowing water was streaming down his neck and back. He was making good progress as the day was reaching noon, however, what he didn't expect was a random log falling off the waterfall and clocking him in the back of his head, toppling him forward headfirst into the water. He floated unconsciously with a big lump on his head and swirls for his eyes.

Glynda palmed her face in annoyance.

{…}

The next day, in order to prevent the same incident from happening twice in a row, he was ready. As he was meditating at the waterfall, another random log appeared and plummeted towards him from the waterfall. Sensing that danger was coming, he quickly tilted his head to the side without budging a muscle from his spot, eluding the log.

Glynda was quite impressed with his reaction time.

However, when he shifted back and relaxed a bit, a random red salmon swam out of the waterfall and clocked the poor teen in the back of his head, toppling him forward headfirst into the water. Both the Pokémon Trainer and the fish floated unconsciously with swirls for their eyes.

Glynda sweat dropped.

{…}

The following day didn't help Ash's cause either as he was viciously mauled by a school of red salmons, revenging their fallen comrade.

{…}

On the tenth and final day of his first lesson, Ash didn't meet any major setbacks as he spent the whole day meditating at the waterfall, making up for the past two days of inconvenience, involving random logs and vicious fishes. And speaking of the red salmons, he didn't need to worry about them anymore as Glynda did him a huge favor and turn them into fish sticks.

At the end of the day, he completed his first lesson, despite not being satisfied with the results.

Tomorrow was his second lesson.

He hoped it won't be as weird as the first.

 **A/N: Yeah…I didn't want to bore you with Ash doing the same routine throughout the whole chapter so I added a few funny moments to keep you entertain. Also, I forgot Yang did bad puns, so I added that part in the chapter for the fun of it. Sorry, but reading Ash meditating does sound boring, that's why you shouldn't ask why I skipped through his first lesson so quickly. Don't worry his next lesson will be more interesting since he's going to learn how to channel his aura, which will be a difficult task, even for him. The only reason he was able to channel his aura the first time in the anime series because of Sir Aaron's special gloves. Without them, it's going to be a challenge to get past the basics within the given timetable. As for Ash's Pokémon if they are going to have a role in this story, yes, they will have some kind of role, but it's too soon to tell. For those who have been asking for Serena, she will have a few minor cameo appearances, but that's it. After all, this story isn't about her and her relationship with Ash, although I could use it for an interesting twist later on down the road. We'll see! Once again, the poll for the pairing will be up for a few more days. If the result is still a tie, then expect an AshxTeam RWBY, then.**


	5. Training - Part II

**Aoi Hyoudou:** Okay…let's try this again! The POLL IS NOW CLOSED and the pairing is…a tie again? That means…Team RWBY will be the story pairing, as I promise. I figured it would happen since you guys don't want any girl to be left out, including Weiss. Also, I decided to make Ash's training a two-parter rather than splitting it into four boring parts. He'll still be training throughout the story I just don't want to focus too much on it, to make it boring for you guys. So expect the chapter to be a little rushed because I want to get to the surprises. And speaking of surprises…Ash will indeed wield a weapon, a staff-rifle to be more precise, which will be built by Ruby under Ozpin's request. Also, I will add a certain Tricky Fox Pokémon into the story, to make it a little more interesting, requested by _Batthan the Dark Knight_. Ash will still receive a Pokémon Egg from Ozpin, which we know what it is by now. As for Ash's Pokémon, Serena, and Ash's mom, they will be in the story. I REPEAT! THEY WILL BE IN THE STORY! So some of you guys need to stop asking why they haven't appeared yet, it's really, REALLY annoying when you don't read the author notes that I post at the beginning and end of a chapter. There will also be brief appearances from familiar Pokémon researchers, more importantly Professor Oak! With all that being said, enjoy!

 **Training**

 **II**

{…}

The following day, Ozpin arrived at the training dome and greeted his nephew, who was waiting eagerly for his second lesson after completing the first part of his training within the ten day limit. "Hello, nephew," He smiled.

"Hey there, uncle," Ash returned the smile as he noted that the older male was carrying a round solid object underneath his armpit. It was silver with dim light reflecting off its surface, strongly implying that it was made of metal. It was also the size of a basketball. "Uh, what's that?"

The headmaster chuckled as he held the round object out with one hand, allowing his nephew to get a closer look at it. "This here will be part of your second lesson, Ash," he answered casually, but asked curiously, "But first-How did your first lesson go?"

"Oh, uh…It went really well, uncle," his nephew half-lied through his teeth as he flashed a nervous grin.

"Is that so?" Ozpin was amused, clearly knowing that the Pokémon Trainer wasn't being truly honest with him. "Strange, I heard it differently from Glynda, something about you being mauled by red salmons?" A shade of crimson was plastered on the teen's face.

"I-I don't want to talk about it."

"Very well," Ozpin became serious. "For your next lesson, you'll be learning how to channel aura into this sphere." He held out the strange object again and poured some of his aura into it as it emitted a bright yellow glow, astonishing his nephew. "It will help you how to manifest your aura." Then he reeled the sphere back as the light faded. "However, I've to be honest with you, Ash, even with the remaining time you have, I don't believe you will be able to master this technique in such a short period." Ash didn't argue. "Even the most experienced aura users like Sir Aaron couldn't master it in less than three months. It took him several years." His nephew agreed with that, as well. "Although-" The headmaster smiled. "-I do believe you will be able to at least grasp the basics."

"I-I hope so," The Pokémon Trainer didn't sound too confident, despite his uncle's morale support.

"You will," Ozpin chuckled. "I have the utmost confidence in you."

"Uncle…" Now Ash believed that his uncle was putting too pressure on his shoulders, to meet his expectations on purpose.

"At any rate-" The headmaster ignored the latter and continued, "-here. Catch!" He tosses the sphere over to the younger male, who immediately caught it, but almost toppled forward when he felt the sphere's weight.

It weighed seventy-five pounds, almost dragging him along with it to the ground. It was a good thing he managed to sustain a strong grip around it or else he would've fallen flat on his face in the dirt. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep it above his waist level veins throbbing on his forehead and sweat streaming down his face. He didn't know how his uncle made it look so easy when he was holding it with one hand moments ago. Was it possible that the strange gravity had something to do with it? That must be it because there was no way a ten pound object suddenly weighed seventy-five pounds.

"Good luck, nephew, you're going to need it." Ozpin walked off, leaving his nephew alone with his training.

' _Alright, Ash-'_ The black haired teen tried to motivate himself, using every ounce of strength in his body to lift the heavy sphere towards his face. _'You can do this. You can do this. You. Can. Do. Th-'_ He lost his footing as he staggered backwards onto his back. _'-Or…MAYBE NOT-AAHHHHHHH!'_ He landed hard with swirls for his eyes.

A few minutes later, Ash sat cross-legged with both arms folded together as he stared intently at the silver sphere. "Okay…how am I going to approach this?" he mumbled aloud in deep thought. There were several ways, but he didn't know where to start. "Hmm, let's see if I should try this first."

He reached for the sphere and rolled it towards him. Taking a deep breath, he placed a hand on it and stared at it intently, focusing his aura into it. If there was one thing he had learned from his meditation session, that was, to concentrate nothing, but his aura. _'Alright, concentrate. Concentrate. CON-CEN-TRATE!'_

A minute has passed by, but nothing happened. _'Hmm, maybe I'm not concentrating hard enough. Let's try again.'_ He pressed his palm firmly on the sphere and stared at it intently. _'Concentrate!'_

An hour has passed by and still nothing. _'Once more!'_

Three hours later, the result remains the same as he finally realizes that the technique wasn't working. _'Okay-'_ He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. _'-Let's try this, then.'_ Ash shifted his position slightly as he rolled the sphere a bit closer and crossed his legs around it, to keep it in position from rolling off. Then he placed both hands on the silver sphere, one on each side as he took another deep breath and glanced down at the round object in his lap. _'Hopefully, this will work.'_

{…}

Three more hours had passed by and still…the Pokémon Trainer has yet to produce a single result with his new tactic, completely exhausted burning out his energy as he fell back and rested on his back out of breath with sweat streaming down his face. He gazed up at the artificial sky with a tired expression on his face. He had to admit, it was challenging than he originally expected. However, he wasn't going to give up. Also, there was no need for him to rush, either! He still has plenty of time to learn the basics, he just needs to figure out a method to work around the obstacle.

His stomach rumbled with hunger.

He groaned as he knew he was hungry, training throughout most of the day without having anything to eat. His stomach growled again as he slowly cranked his head in the direction of the forest, wondering if he should search around in the forest for some fruit rather than wasting time heading back to the Dining Hall.

Quickly making up his decision, he stood up and strolled over to the forest, walking through several bushes where he stumbled upon abundant trees fill with red apples. He walked up to them and started picking a few apples off the branches, ones that looked ripe to eat. He brought one apple towards his shirt and wiped it as he took a bite, crunching down and enjoying his first bite.

His auburn eyes lit up at how delicious and juicy the unusual fruit was as his mouth was still tingling with the sweet flavor. Not only couldn't he get enough of it as he took several more quick bites, it incredibly rejuvenated his strength and satisfied his hunger. He didn't know what was inside the fruit, but it could come in handy whenever he feels fatigued.

Ash casually walked back to the training ground as he finished the apple and started munching on another one. When he approached the silver sphere and tossed the apple core over his shoulder, he placed the other apples to the ground and returned his focus back to training. He crouched down to the round object and lifted it off the ground with all his might and the additional help from his legs.

He didn't know why, but it felt like the sphere gained an additional five pounds.

The black haired teen struggled greatly to keep the metal sphere steady in his grasp as he tries to concentrate his aura into it, staring at it intently.

He stared and stared, but his aura refuses to cooperate with him.

However, that's not going to stop him from trying to make some kind of progress.

Thirty minutes had passed by and still…nothing! His palms were becoming sweaty, making it very difficult to keep a firm grip on the sphere. His arms became really numb as beads of sweat were streaming down his face. And soon…his arms finally gave out as he released the sphere and it plummeted to the ground, barely missing his foot when he instinctively leaped back.

' _Phew! That was a close one.'_ he thought with a huge sigh of relief, eluding a disaster. _'Okay, let's try this again.'_ He pulled the sphere from the ground and lifted it up towards his face, focusing his aura into it.

{…}

Fifteen minutes later, the Pokémon Trainer dropped the sphere again, avoiding crushing his other foot. _'Come on, Ash, you can do this!'_ he thought wearily between heavy pants.

{…}

Ten more minutes later, he dropped the sphere for the third time in a row as he collapsed onto his back with sweat streaming down his face, completely exhausted. _'There has to be an easy way for this…'_

{…}

Four days later, Ash collapsed again onto his back after spending four days straight training constantly without leaving the training dome, showing some progress, but not much as he still struggles to concentrate his aura into the sphere. However, his strength did improve quite a bit, lifting the sphere like it was sixty pounds instead of eighty. Still, he couldn't believe he spent four days straight in the training dome without telling Ruby and the others where he was. They must be really worried about him even Weiss no matter how much she wants to deny that she didn't miss his company.

Yet, he shouldn't worry about it. Knowing his uncle, the older male had already informed the girls about his status, although he should think about making up for the all the lost time with them. Perhaps, during his days off, he'll hang out with them, but for now…he still has his training to worry about.

Snatching a green apple near his side, he took a bite as he sat upright and finished his snack, refurbishing his strength. When he tossed the apple core over his shoulder, he stood up and stretched his muscles a bit before turning his attention back to his lesson. _'Alright, back to training,'_ He walked up to the silver sphere and lifted it up off the ground towards his face, struggling to keep it steady, which was normal. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the round object calmly with a relaxed composure, concentrating vastly to channel his aura into the sphere.

At first, nothing happened, but then he noticed a very faint blue light reflecting off the sphere's metal surface. It was quick, but immediately caught the teen's attention as he broke his concentration and released the object quickly, causing it to plummet to the ground. He panted and panted, trying to catch his breath until his lips slowly curled into a small smile, realizing what he just saw moments ago.

It wasn't a hallucination.

That was definitely his aura!

{…}

Ten days had passed by since then and Ash-well, he was gradually making progress, learning through his mistakes and mixing in some of the lessons he had learned through meditation into his daily routine. Patience was the key to his improvement because his aura couldn't properly flow through his body under a lot of stress, he finally realizes that. Rather than forcing his aura, he approached the matter with a cool head, reducing the stress and taking deep breaths whenever he felt frustrated.

"Alright, once more," the Pokémon Trainer mumbled aloud after successfully channeling some of his aura into the sphere moments ago. He was sitting cross-legged staring intently at the sphere in front of him with his face drenched in sweat, strongly implying that he's been going at it for several hours without a break.

Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on the round object and pressed down gently, keeping his mind focus and concentrating on his aura. He felt a smooth flow of energy leaving his body as the sphere slowly emitted a blue glow around its surface, which lasted for a few seconds before the light quickly disappeared. The black haired teen immediately leaned back and gasped greatly as sweat flooded down his face.

Channeling his aura wasn't an easy task as it needs a good portion of his energy and concentration, in order for it to work.

"Okay, one more time, and then I'll take a short break!"

Unbeknownst to the Pokémon Trainer, two familiar faces were secretly watching him through built-in cameras within the training dome, monitoring his every activity on a holographic screen in Professor Ozpin's Beacon Tower main office. The headmaster sat contentedly behind his deck with both elbows resting on it and his hands crossed together as he rested his chin on top of them and observed his nephew resuming with his training. His lips slowly twisted into a small smile as he was very pleased that the younger male was making progress.

Glynda was being Glynda, as usual. She stood next to Ozpin's side and kept her eyes glued on the holographic screen with an emotionless expression on her face. While she might not show it, she too looked pleased with the progress Ash was showing.

It's been less than four weeks and already Ash's showing why he's Ash Ketchum! Normally, it would take an average aura user several months to be in the Pokémon Trainer's position, but in Ash's case, that rule doesn't apply. The black haired teen knows how to work hard with passion and thrive to succeed, despite encountering a few challenging obstacles in his way. He's been like this since he was a little boy, always want to prove to the world that he was the best and the future of his generation.

But most of all, he wanted to be just like his father, an adventurer-someone who can make a difference, despite not know who he was.

Anyway, it seems like everything was coming along smoothly as schedule, except for a few minor issues that needed to be resolved.

"Are you still positive we should rest our hands in one boy, Ozpin?" The new voice appeared to originate from a matured man, who sounded very skeptical about the incredibility he heard from his fellow headmaster about the teen. "What if, he isn't the Aura Guardian we'd been searching for?"

Ozpin averted his gaze briefly away from the screen and glances forward at a faded black haired, middle-aged man with a strip of silver metal above his right eyebrow, who stood before him with a deep frown on his face. He was cleanly dressed in a white overcoat, with a gray undercoat, alongside a red tie, and a white glove on his right hand. Near his right foot was a distinguished pink egg with a black "mask" pattern on it, encased securely inside a cylinder-shaped, glass container, which had a yellow lid, a pillow-like blanket at the bottom on which the egg sits, and a small round red and white sphere on top.

At first, the headmaster said nothing as he continued to stare at his longtime colleague until his lips slowly curled into a small smile and chuckled slightly, which puzzled his visitor. "There's no doubt Ash is the Aura Guardian, Ironwood."

"How sure are you?" General Ironwood the headmaster of Atlas Academy and the leader of an Atlesian military questioned.

"All the evidence points in his direction, general," Ozpin answered simply.

"What evidence would that be?" Ironwood folded his arms and waited for his fellow headmaster to enlighten him.

"He's Sir Aaron descendant."

General Ironwood's lips slowly twisted into a straight line, unamused.

He already told him that.

"What else?"

"They both have black hair," said Ozpin with an amused smile.

Half the population has black hair, which was common.

"Also, they both have the same aura if you haven't noticed," added the headmaster.

"That could be a coincidence, Ozpin," said Ironwood with a tired sigh.

"Maybe so," Ozpin didn't argue. "But I know Ash is the one because he's my _nephew_ , after all." He smiled.

The Atlas Academy headmaster didn't understand why his fellow headmaster continues to play games with him. The fact, that he continues to follow his heart, believing that the Pokémon Trainer was indeed the next Aura Guardian in line to defend Vale and the other kingdoms from a major threat. Or…the fact, that he continues to refer the oblivious teen his 'nephew' when his relationship with the latter was "complicating" than everyone realizes.

"Ozpin-" Ironwood massaged his temples in annoyance. "-why do you continue to do this to yourself?"

"What are you trying to apply, James?" Ozpin asked with narrowed eyes as he stated his colleague by his first name, which was never a good sign.

Ironwood glared back. "I'm applying that you continue to run away from your past." His lips twisted into a snarl, earning a glare from his fellow headmaster. " _You_ and I both know that boy-"

"-will continue his training as scheduled." Ozpin immediately cut the man off with a sharp glare, leaving no room for argument. "That's final, general."

A growing look of concern was plastered on Glynda's face as she knew her colleague didn't feel really comfortable talking about his past because of countless mistakes he made that ruined several lives in the past.

There was a moment of tension in the air as both men refuse to back down from one another until Ironwood decides to be the better man and drops the subject altogether, shifting back to his calm composure. "Very well, my apologies,"

"Don't let it happen again, Ironwood," said Ozpin with a half-smile.

"A-hem!" Someone cleared her throat as all the occupants in the room fixed their gaze at a tall young woman, with pale skin, white hair and medium-light blue eyes. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, with the exception of her bangs, which are brushed off to the right side of her face, and a small lock of hair that reaches below her left ear. She had her hands behind her back while grasping a blueprint roll in one of her hands. Next to her right foot was an ordinal silver briefcase, but with a notable red and white sphere logo on it. "Permission to speak?"

"What is it, Winter?" Ironwood granted one of his best soldiers to speak, wondering what was on her mind.

Winter didn't respond at first as she turned away from her commander and fixed her piercing eyes in Ozpin's direction. "This 'nephew' of yours, is he willing to help our cause?" she asked with a little interest.

"Of course he will," replied Ozpin with a casual tone of voice. "When he's good and ready,"

She furrowed her brows in suspicion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You heard me, Miss Schnee, when he's good and ready." He dodged the question.

Winter's lips slowly curled into an angry scowl, unamused that man was refusing to give her a simple answer, but she decided not to press further. "Very well," Instead, she changed the topic. "My younger sister informed me that she had met your nephew." Ozpin allowed the young woman to continue without interrupting her. "And I must say-From what she had told me about him, he sounds very…underwhelming."

"And I'm sure he'll take that as a compliment." Ozpin chuckled.

Winter snorted with a small smirk. "However, he does pique my interest a little." This gained the headmaster's attention. "I'm very curious how far he will go with the potential you speak highly of."

"Trust me, Miss Schnee, when the time comes, you'll be surprised." Ozpin told the Atlas specialist with a small smile, which gained her interest a little. "Anyway-" He returned his focus back to the main topic. "-I know you both didn't come all the here from Atlas just to hear me out." He became serious. "You know why you're here." Ironwood bobbed a nod.

"Yes, the Vytal Festival Tournament is next month and the best students I'd handpicked are already here to represent Atlas." he stated calmly, earning a nod from his colleague. Then he added, "Also, we brought what you'd requested. It wasn't easy convincing Professor Sycamore to delay his research, but we managed to retrieve it." He picked up the egg case and walked up to Ozpin's desk, resting it on top of it.

"Here's the blueprint and-" Winter also walked up to the headmaster's desk and placed the blueprint roll on top of it. Next, she placed the briefcase flat on the desk and opened it, revealing nine small red and white spheres aligned in three rows of three. "-these! Professor Oak, Professor Elm, and Professor Birch were kind enough to honor your request." Ozpin smiled, very thankful that a certain Pokémon researcher and some of his colleagues were able to spare a few moments of their busy schedule lending him some of their starter Pokémon.

"However-" The headmaster stared at Weiss's older sister, wondering what was on her mind. "-I'm quite curious what you're planning to do with all of this."

Ozpin smirked. "It's a secret."

{…}

The next day, Ash was greeted by his uncle and Glynda after spending several hours in his training. "Oh, um, hi uncle, professor. What brings you guys here?" he asked curiously as he didn't expect to receive a visit from the two adults in the middle of his training.

Ozpin chuckled. "Training hard as usual, I see." His nephew grinned.

"You bet!"

"Anyway-" The headmaster focused back to the main topic. "-I would like to tell you that you'll be receiving a few half-days, starting today." he told the younger male.

"Half-days?" Ash blinked.

Ozpin smiled in amusement. "That's right, Ash, in the next few days you'll only train in the morning while enjoying the rest of the day relaxing and hanging out with your friends." he clarified.

"Oh!" The latter smiled.

"Plus, I don't want you to focus too much on your training, to miss out on your special day."

"My…special day?"

"It'll come to you," The Pokémon Trainer stared at his uncle, completely puzzled. "For now, it's best if you head to the Dining Hall, to get something to eat. It's already ten minutes past noon." Ash didn't argue.

"Okay,"

{…}

Int the Dining Hall, Ash sat with Team RWBY and Team JNPR as they simply watch him wolfing down four trays of food in minutes like a wild beast, working his way on his fifth. "Fruits are good, but boy do I miss actual food." He quickly took a spoonful from his bowl of chowder and shoved it into his mouth, enjoying every bite. "Mmmmmmm, so good~!" Then he notices that everyone was staring at him strangely, almost as if he grew a second head. "Ummm..."

"Ash-" He glances across the table at Ruby, who had a growing look of concern on her face. "-I know it's been almost a month since we last saw you, but…"

"Have you been eating properly?" Yang finished her sister's sentence. "You look like you haven't eaten anything for weeks." She frowned.

"Uhhh…"

"I know your training is important, Ash, but you could at least ask Professor Ozpin for a few days off," said Jaune with a frown.

"Well…"

"Your health comes first, Ash," Pyrrha offered the teen a small smile. "You should know that."

"I do, but…"

"I'm guessing you were enjoying where you were staying because you didn't have to worry about Yang molesting you at night. Am I right, Ash?" Blake teased with a smirk.

A shade of crimson appeared on Ash's face.

"BLAKE!" Yang pouted angrily at her partner for poking fun of her at her expense.

"Just saying, Yang,"

"A-Anyway-" Ruby quickly changed the subject before things became really awkward. "We just glad Professor Ozpin finally gave you a few days off, Ash."

"Half-days," the latter corrected.

"Right, half-days," she giggled.

"Great!" Yang threw a fist into the air as she grinned. "That means we get to celebrate your birthday, after all."

"My birthday?" Ash glances to the blonde Huntress, who was sitting next to his right while Blake was occupying his left.

"Are you serious?" Weiss stared across the table with a deep frown at the oblivious teen. "Professor Ozpin informed us earlier that your birthday is tomorrow, how could you forget your own birthday?"

The Pokémon Trainer laughed sheepishly as he rubbed his head embarrassed. "I guess it kinda slipped my mind."

"You're an idiot." Ash made a face.

And speaking of Ozpin…The headmaster walked casually up to their table, which didn't go unnoticed by the party. He was without Glynda Goodwitch by his side, which was a rare sight. "Un-I mean! Professor Ozpin, what are you doing here?" Ash was the one who asked for the group.

Ozpin chuckled. "Oh, there's someone I would like to have a moment of her time with-" He drifted his eyes onto a certain dark red haired girl. "Miss Rose, if you may, please come with me."

"Ooooooohhhh~! It looks like someone's in trouble." Yang teased her little sister.

Ruby puffed her cheeks and glared angrily at her teasing sister.

{…}

Outside the Dining Hall, Ruby stood face to face with the headmaster, fidgeting nervously as she believed that she was in trouble with something that she's not aware of. "Um, am I in trouble, professor?" she asked quietly.

Ozpin blinked, but smiled at the young girl. "No, Miss Rose, you're not."

"Oh, good," She heaved a huge sigh of relief. "And here I thought it was about the cookie incident."

The veteran Huntsman chuckled in amusement. "That's not it either, although I do like to ask you something, if you don't mind."

"Sure, what is it?"

"How much has Qrow taught you?" he asked unexpectedly, waiting patiently for her answer.

"Oh, uh, well-" Ruby hesitated momentarily, unsure how to give the man an honest answer. "-He taught me a lot, but not everything."

"Good," Ozpin seems somewhat satisfied with her answer. "If I may, I would like to ask a favor from you."

"A favor?" Ruby was taken aback by the sudden request. "What kind of favor, professor?"

Rather than giving her a simple answer, the headmaster pulled out the same blueprint roll that he received from Winter Schnee the other day and held it out to his student, who gradually accepted it with little hesitation. She unfolded it and studied the blueprint design for a…staff-rifle? It bears similar resemblances to Sir Aaron's, with the exception of its three modes: an automatic, semi-auto, and sniper.

"So cool~!" Ruby squeaked in delight like a fangirl.

Ozpin chuckled in amusement. "Yes, it is 'cool' and you'll be the one who's going to build it."

"M-M-Me?!" Her silver eyes widened in surprise as her mouth gaped out like a fish out of water.

"That's right, Ruby, you and only you can build it."

She felt honored, but something still bothered her.

"Um, can I ask whose it for?" the young Huntress asked.

Ozpin smirked and responded simply, "Why it's for Ash, of course."

 **A/N: Finally! The chapter is done! Sorry for the delay, the chapter was such a pain. As you've already figured out Ozpin and his colleagues do know about Professor Oak and the other Pokémon researchers. You will know about their connection later on in the story. Also, what is Ozpin hiding that he doesn't want anyone to find out, especially Ash? What is up with the nine PokéBalls in the briefcase? Will they serve a purpose? Were any of you surprised that Ruby's going to construct Ash's weapon? As for the story, don't make a big deal that I shortened Ash's training a bit. I just wanted to portray what his training is going to be like throughout the story. He'll be learning hand-to-hand combat from a certain Pokémon very soon. And speaking of Pokémon, the Tricky Fox Pokémon I mentioned at the beginning, will also be showing up very soon after Ash receives his training partner. Will it be the same Zorua from the movie or a different one? Lastly, the pairing is TEAM RWBY! I just want to remind you all if you didn't notice it yet. However, Ash will end up with one of them. Who it will be, well, you will have to figure it out as the story goes on. The next chapter will have full of surprises, literally, it will.**


	6. Surprises

**Aoi Hyoudou:** The name of Ash's staff-rifle will be…Guardian's Reach! It was suggested by one of my other beta readers, FanficCrossoverMaster15. It fits to the Aura Guardian theme, don't you think so? As for the surprises, there will be some, so keeps your eyes open for them! Also, Ash will receive his Pokémon egg from Ozpin and it will hatch in the same chapter sooner than everyone expected. With that being said, enjoy!

 **Surprises**

{…}

The next day, Ash spent several hours in the training dome, training really hard before noon. Drenched in sweat, he fell flat on his back, breathing heavily as he completed his aura lesson for the day, completely exhausted. Believing that he was going to be late meeting the others for lunch, he gradually stood up to his feet after taking a few minutes to catch his breath. Then he became really alarmed when he heard loud rustling in the bushes within the forest. Curious as he was, the young teen slowly walked up to the rustling bushes. His heart was beating rapidly whenever he took a step forward, closing in on his target. The rustling became louder when he stood in front of the bushes nervously, hoping that nothing was going to jump out and attack him. Taking a deep breath, he quickly glances over the bushes, but notices that nothing was there!

The rustling became louder and louder.

Taking another deep breath, the Pokémon Trainer poked his head through the bushes, avoiding sharp thorns and loose branches from scraping his face. He investigated the bushes thoroughly, but spotted nothing out of the ordinary as he pulled his head out of the bushes, carefully removing dead leaves and tiny branches from his already messy hair.

It was strange, though.

What could've caused the bushes to rustle?

Could it have been the wind? Rather than overthinking it too much, he quickly dashes off, already running late meeting up with his friends at the Dining Hall. He had a feeling he was going to receive an earful from Weiss once he arrives.

Unbeknownst to the young man, a pair of greenish blue eyes and a muzzle poked out from another bush. 'It' fixes its gaze at the teen's back and giggles mischievously before disappearing into the forest.

{…}

Hustling through the school hallways, Ash could see the Dining Hall several feet away in his sight. When he was about to reach his destination, a new voice belonging to a young female called out to him. "Hey, you!" He immediately skidded to a halt and glances over his shoulder to the source of the voice, noting that two shady characters were running up to him.

The girl who called out to him moments ago had brown skin with dark red eyes and light, mint-green hair styled with a straight fringe and bangs, as well as two long locks on each side, in the back. She wears an exotic-looking white top, a shallow-cut olive undershirt, white pants, and brown chaps that end at her calves, along with an overlong belt.

Her partner-in-crime was a pale-skinned, young man with silver-gray eyes and gray hair, dressed in a gray and black zip jacket, black pants, along with a single notched belt, and a bandana draped over it. Protecting his arms were sets of rerebraces and vambraces.

"Um, hi, is there something you two want with me?" the black haired teen asked awkwardly, keeping his eyes glued on the duo with narrowed eyes.

There was something about them, he couldn't trust.

"You could say that," said the dark-tanned girl with a smile. "By chance, are you Ash?"

"Y-Yes…?"

"So-" Her friend had a smug expression on his face. "-you're the one 'they' were talking about. Huh. We didn't expect we would come across you sooner than we expected."

Ash furrowed his brows in suspicion.

What's that supposed to mean?

Suddenly, the dark-tanned girl drilled her elbow into her friend's ribs, causing him to yelp in pain as he clutches his side. Then she fixes her gaze back to the Pokémon Trainer with a reassuring smile. "Oh, don't mind him. Sometimes he can say the dumbest things. Right?" She gave a quick side-glance to her comrade and glared, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Right," the latter grumbled under his breath as he glared back.

"See, nothing to worry about."

"Okay…" Ash blinked.

"So, Ash-" The green haired female glances back to the young teen with a cheerful tone of voice. "-Ruby and her friends have told us so much about you."

"Have they now?" She bobbed a nod.

"Yup, they mentioned that you're Ozpin's nephew."

"And that you're this 'Aura Guardian'," her friend added.

Ash laughed sheepishly with a sweat drop. So much for being a secret as he couldn't believe Ruby and the other spilled the beans.

"So, is it true?" the dark-tanned girl asked with a little interest.

"Huh?!" He blinked.

"That you're this legendary Aura Guardian?" she rephrased her question.

"Oh, uh…" The Pokémon Trainer scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Well, I might not be legendary, but yes, I am a…Aura Guardian or at least training hard to become one."

"In other words, you're still half-baked." The gray haired teen folded his arms together and snorted, "Figures." Ash frowned deeply.

What's up with the cocky attitude?

"Still…you must be really special if you're considered to be an Aura Guardian who only appears every thousand years or so." The dark-tanned girl smiled.

"I get that a lot, sometimes." The latter giggled in amusement.

"I bet you do," Then she changed the subject. "So, is there a chance we might see you in the tournament?" She pretended to look interested again.

"Tournament?" Ash was clearly lost. "What tournament?" The gray haired teen palmed his face and shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh, boy…You don't know anything, do you?" He ignored the glare he was receiving from the latter. "Vale's hosting the Vytal Festival Tournament next month, inviting the best students from all the four kingdoms to compete and test their skills against one another."

"Oh, that sounds awesome." Ash looked really interested. "But…I don't know if I'll able to compete since I might be a little busy still training."

"I see," The dark-tanned girl cupped her chin in deep thought. "Well, if anything changes, just let us know. I would love to see an Aura Guardian like you in action, alright?"

"S-Sure…" the black haired teen answered awkwardly with a small smile.

"Good," Then she realizes something. "Oh, and before we forget…I'm Emerald." She smiled brightly. "And this idiot here is Mercury." She jerked her thumb at her comrade.

"Hey!"

She elbowed him again in the ribs.

He grunted.

"Anyway….it was nice talking to you, but we have places to be. We'll see you later-" She shoves Mercury forward as he grumbles. "-or not!" she whispers quietly in disgust as the pair walks off.

Ash waves them off and lowers his arm down once they were gone.

Emerald and Mercury…He still didn't trust them.

{…}

Later that evening, a grinning Yang dragged a blindfolded Ash through the hallways to who knows where for a big surprise! "Yang, where are you taking me?!" he asked frantically, despite fearing what her answer would be.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." the blonde Huntress told the Pokémon Trainer without glancing at him. "So quit whining and keep up with me!" She tugged on his arm, causing the poor teen to yelp in pain.

"Ow! Okay, okay, you don't have to try to rip my arm off, Yang! That really hurts." he whined childishly.

Yang rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Okay, Ashy, I'll try to be gentler. Would that make you happy?" purred seductively the young woman as she reduced her speed and wrapped her arms around his right arm, pressing her cleavage against it.

Ash felt his cheeks burning up in embarrassment, feeling a pair of round and squishy objects pressed against his arm. "Y-Y-Y-YANG!"

Yang laughed in amusement.

{…}

Moments after Yang's little shenanigans, the pair arrived at their destination: a vacated conference room. They stood in front of the room door as Yang smirked. "Here we are!" she declared, earning a frown from the latter.

"Uh, Yang, I don't know where 'here' is because I can't see."

"Don't worry about the small details, Ash-" The blonde Huntress grinned, which he couldn't see, either. "-just follow my lead."

"O-Okay..."

There was a loud creak echoing the hallways, strongly implying that his friend just pushed the door open. Then he suddenly stumbled forward when Yang quickly snatched his wrist and pulled him, along with her through the doorway, almost falling flat on his face when he tripped over his own feet. Once they were in the conference room, he heard the door slowly closed behind them, followed by a loud click.

The lights were turned on.

But, he still couldn't see anything in front of him.

' _This had better not be a prank…or worst! She had better not think about rap-'_

"Okay, Ash, I'm going to remove your blindfold now. Promise me you're going to keep your eyes close." Yang's voice immediately interrupted his trail of thoughts as he cranked his head in the direction of her voice.

"Do I even have a choice in the matter?" he asked.

She punched him in the shoulder, not too hard, but hard enough to cause him to flinch in pain.

"Ow!" He rubbed his shoulder.

"Now's not the time to be a Mr. Smarty Pants, Ash." He could sense her glaring daggers at him.

"Okay, fine, I'll listen." He sighed dejectedly.

"Good," The Pokémon Trainer couldn't see it, but she had a smile on her face as she walked up to him and removed his blindfold. As promised, he kept his eyes shut, but winced slightly at the light irritating his face. "Now on my count, you can open your eyes, okay?" He nodded. "One. Two…Three! Now!"

Slowly, Ash opened his auburn eyes and glanced forward to a big surprise and almost a heart attack!

"SURPRISE!" Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Team JNPR, Sun, and Neptune shouted simultaneously as they popped confetti poppers and streamers into the air, with some streamers falling directly on his messy black hair.

"W-W-What?!" Ash was clearly surprised that his friends threw him a surprise birthday party, despite only knowing him for a short period.

"See you guys, I told you he was going to be surprised." Yang grinned.

The Pokémon Trainer ignored the blonde Huntress as he fixed his gaze around the conference room, admiring the amount of time his friends spent to throw him this surprise birthday party. It was decorated with birthday decorations and balloons. Hanging from the ceiling was a birthday banner that reads in bold print, **HAPPY 17** **th** **BIRTHDAY ASH KETCHUM**. Glancing back to his friends, he notices that Nora and Ren were holding his birthday cake from both sides with seventeen lit candles on it. His birthday cake was a typical ice cream cake with blue frosting, along with a red and white sphere picture in the center and his name was written in white frosting through it.

"Y-You guys, did all of this just for me?!" a bewildered Ash finally asked.

"It's your birthday, dude-" The black haired teen glances at the blonde Faunus, who stated the obvious. "-Of course!" He grinned, but rubbed his head sheepishly. "Although it was Ruby and Yang's idea to throw you one, we just went along with it."

"You guys didn't have to, you know." Pyrrha giggled in amusement, drawing the birthday boy's attention in her direction.

"Come on, Ash, don't you dare ruin this day, especially on your own birthday."

"I agree with Pyrrha," said Jaune with a smile. "Just enjoy yourself."

"Yeah, Ash-" Ruby marched up to her friend and wagged her finger in his face. "-Don't ruin this day. Do you know how much trouble we went through just to pull it off? A lot!" Ash chuckled in amusement.

"Fine, fine, I guess you guys aren't giving me any choice." Yang grinned.

"Great!" She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and brought her face close to his. A faint blush was plastered on the latter's face at how close they were. "But we couldn't pull this off if it wasn't for Ozpin giving us the green light to throw you this party." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder in Ozpin's direction.

Ash blinked and fixed his gaze in his uncle's direction where he was observing in the background with a smile, along with Glynda, General Ironwood, Winter, and another man, who piques his interest. The man had grayish black, spiky hair, red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline, who wears a red, tattered cloak, a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. Glancing in his direction, the older male gave him a smug look.

The Pokémon Trainer blinked again.

He couldn't explain it, but he believed that he met the man before from somewhere, a long time ago when he first met his uncle.

"Okay, then!" Yang's voice quickly brought his attention back to her. "Let's get this party finally started!" she cheered childishly as she threw a fist into the air.

"Jeez! That sounded so lame, even for you, Yang," commented Weiss as she sighed.

"I agree," Blake giggled.

"Hey!"

Her friends laughed at her expense.

"You guys are so mean." she pouted angrily.

{…}

Ash's birthday celebration lasted for several hours as the birthday boy spent quality time hanging out with his friends and eating his birthday cake. When it was time for presents, Ozpin didn't waste any time presenting his gift to his nephew. "Here you go, Ash-" Glynda walked up to the young teen as she carried the Pokémon egg case in her arms, which immediately gained the latter's attention.

"Wait…Isn't that-"

Ozpin chuckled. "That's right, Ash, it's a Pokémon egg." This also piques his friends' interest as they were curious what was in the unusual pink egg. "It's a gift I specially requested from someone you might know."

"From someone I might know?" His nephew blinked.

General Ironwood stepped forward and answered, "We do believe you know a man by the name of Riley?"

"Um, yes?" replied awkwardly the Pokémon Trainer as he glances at the older male with interest.

"Well, Ozpin informed him about your training."

"Wait!" Ash glances back to his uncle and stares at him with a frown. "I thought you didn't know Riley."

"Correction, Ash," said the headmaster with a chuckle. "You only asked why I didn't choose him over you when in fact I do know Riley."

"Oh,"

"A-Anyway-" Ironwood drew the teen's attention right back to him. "-Riley sent that egg on Ozpin's request to you after several Pokémon researchers studied it."

"So…it's okay for me to have it, then?" Ozpin nodded with a smile.

"Of course, I'm very confident that you'll raise it well, Ash."

Ash returned the smile and accepted the egg case from Glynda as she rejoined Ozpin's side. "Thanks, un-I mean…Professor Ozpin."

"No problem, Ash, and who knows you might even learn a few things from 'it'," said his uncle with a chuckle.

The Pokémon Trainer didn't quite catch that as he was too busy admiring the Pokémon egg as his friends immediately gathered around him, to gawk at the mysterious egg.

"So…that's a Pokémon egg," said Jaune.

"Do you know what type of Pokémon it is, Ash?" Ruby asked eagerly.

Ash shrugged. "Who knows? We won't know until it hatches."

"How long do you think that would take?" Blake asked with interest.

"It depends,"

"In other words, you don't know." Weiss deadpanned with her arms folded and a frown on her face.

"I-I already told you, it all depends when it's ready to hatch," said uncertainly the Pokémon Trainer. "But-" He glances down at the egg in its protective case with a smile. "-I have a feeling it won't be long enough now until it hatches."

Suddenly, the pink egg emitted a bright light, which not only astonished the teens, but the adults, as well.

"Well I'll be," smirked the raven haired man.

"That's impossible!" Ironwood gasped in surprise. "It's too soon."

"You don't think..." Glynda glances to Ozpin, who had a smile on his face.

"It's reacting to his aura."

"What's going on?" Jaune shielded his eyes as the light became brighter.

"It's about to hatch," Ash informed his friends as he placed the egg case down and removed the top and the glass container, allowing the new hatching more space to stretch its body once it's born.

Everyone stepped back as they watched the egg slowly grew in height and took on a physical form. When the light subsided, the group stared at a small, pink, canine Pokémon. It had black legs, a black torso, a pink tail, and a white collar. It also had a black "mask" and red eyes.

'It' observed its surroundings very cautiously, with some interest until 'it' finally noticed that it had company.

"Whoa! What is that thing?!" The newborn's lips slowly twisted into a straight line as it locked eyes with Sun.

"Cool, it's a Riolu," commented the experienced Pokémon Trainer with a smile. "But why is it pink?" He blinked confusedly.

"Don't be a sexist, Ash," Blake teased.

"Yeah, what's wrong with pink, mister?" Weiss demanded with her fists on her hips and glared daggers at the teen.

"N-Nothing is wrong about that," He waved his hands defensively. "It's just unusual seeing a pink Riolu, normally they are blue."

"I see," Pyrrha cupped her chin in deep thought as she studied the newborn very closely. "So that means it's a female."

"Looks like it," Ash didn't argue as he crouched down to the newly born Pokémon, immediately drawing 'her' attention to him. "Hey there, no need to be afraid." The pink Riolu frowned deeply at the teen. "We're all friends here, right?" He smiled as he held a hand out to his new 'Pokémon'.

The Fighting-type stared at his hand momentarily until 'she' slowly walked up to him, which drew his attention. Then 'she' slowly reeled her right paw back and thrust it quickly forward, delivering an unexpected sucker punch and knocking the Pokémon Trainer flat on his back with swirls as his eyes.

"ASH!" Ruby and Yang immediately rushed to his side.

"What are _you_ doing?!" Weiss demanded angrily with a glare.

The pink Riolu snorted as she spared the Schnee heiress a quick side-glance. _**"I was testing to see, if he was worthy to be my master, but apparently he failed my test because he was weak."**_

The unusual Pokémon spoke telepathically to the group with a feminine voice, confirming its gender just as Pyrrha expected.

The party's eyes widened as their mouths gaped out in surprise.

Ruby and Yang were also surprised as they accidentally dropped Ash back down on his back after assisting him upright.

He grunted.

"Y-Y-Y-YOU CAN TALK?!" Jaune asked incredulously.

The pink Riolu frowned deeply at the blonde teen as she folded her arms together and glared dully at the group. _**"Of course I can talk,"**_ She rolled her red eyes and continued, _**"It's you humans, we sometimes cannot understand."**_

"Okay, this is becoming really weird." His friends nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile…

{…}

Emerald and Mercury were having a private conversation in a dorm room with their boss lady, who was a matured woman with ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes, dressed in a beige leather, sleeveless jacket with light-beige details, gray pants with a belt around her waist, which had multiple brown pouches attached to it, and boots. She also wears brown gloves, a sarashi tied around her chest and another around her hips, and a pauldron on her left shoulder.

"And you're sure?" She paced back and forth in the room with her arms behind her back after hearing the full story that her apprentices had an unexpected encounter with Ozpin's nephew.

"Messy black hair, little 'Z' markings on his cheeks, auburn eyes, and a stupid look-" Mercury sat in a chair and reported their findings. "-It's him."

"Ugh…and I still can't believe I was actually nice to him." Emerald spat in disgust as she sat comfortably on the bed.

"I don't know-" Her comrade had a smug look on his face as he drew her attention in his direction. "-If I didn't know any better, I believe you actually like talking to him." She glared sharply at the idiot teen.

"Shut up, Mercury!" the dark-tanned girl hissed venomously. "Why would I be interested in some dumb kid?"

"Just saying," He smirked.

"Anyway-" The woman interrupted their quarreling as she drew their attention back to her. "-If it's true that Ozpin's 'nephew' is training to become the next Aura Guardian since Sir Aaron, then this could be a problem."

"What do we do?" Emerald asked.

The woman stopped her pacing and fell into deep thought momentarily until her lips slowly curled into a smirk as she spoke, "Nothing."

Emerald and Mercury exchanged a worried look as they glances back to their boss. "Did you just say nothing?" said incredulously Mercury.

"That's right, nothing."

"Ma'am, you can't be serious." Emerald argued.

The woman chuckled. "Relax, Emerald, we'll still keep an eye on him."

"Wouldn't it make more sense taking him out now?" asked Mercury.

"And spoiled the fun? No, he might actually be useful to our plans."

"Useful?" Emerald blinked.

"Don't worry about the small details, Emerald. All will be clear in due time and when that time comes…our little "Aura Guardian" won't know what hit him." The woman smirked mischievously as her amber eyes flashed dangerously.

 **A/N: No omake? Sorry, but I'll do one next time when the time is right. For now, I want to focus more on the actual story first. So…did anyone guess what was in the bushes? How about the unexpected turn of events when Ash met Emerald and Mercury? Also, no one expected that Ash's Riolu would act a bit rebellious towards him, right? Don't worry…She'll warm up to him once they trained together. As for the Vytal Festival Tournament, while it's not set in stone, Volume 3 should start in chapter nine or ten, still not sure yet. Ash won't be participating, but he'll be there to watch the tournament. During the tournament arc, Ruby will be teaching Ash how to use his weapon, so keeps your eyes out for that in the upcoming chapters. Lastly, don't worry if Ash hasn't bonded with Team RWBY as of late, it's a slow buildup. It'll be worth the wait once you start noticing the girls slowly developed feelings for him. I don't want to rush it, you know! The next chapter will focus on Ash and his rocky relationship with his pink Riolu.**


	7. Partners

**Aoi Hyoudou:** As I mentioned it before, this chapter will focus greatly on Ash's relationship with the pink Riolu, who will eventually warm up to him and revealed her name to him. Well, I think that's about it. Enjoy!

 **Partners**

{…}

"SHE'S MY WHAT?!" The next day, Ozpin dropped a major bombshell to his nephew when they returned to the training dome, to resume his aura training.

The headmaster simply chuckled at the teen's priceless reaction. "You heard me, Ash, starting today, you and-" He fixes his gaze to the pink Riolu, who stood next to the younger male with her arms crossed and a deep frown plastered on her face. "-Your little friend here will be training partners."

Ash stood speechless while the shiny Pokémon looked unamused, for many reasons.

 _ **"What makes you think I'm going to follow your orders, human?"**_ the pink Riolu questioned with narrowed eyes. _**"Just because you're forcing me to pair up with this boy here, doesn't mean I'm obliged to do what you say."**_

Ozpin smiled in amusement. "Oh, trust me when I say this-" This immediately gained the Pokémon Trainer and the Pokémon's interest. "-By the end of your training, you two will be inseparable."

 _ **"I highly doubt that,"**_ snorted the pink Pokémon, unamused.

"Give it time,"

 _ **"Tch."**_

The headmaster hid a smirk as he glances to his nephew with a smile. "And I'm very confident that you'll be able to make it happen, Ash."

"Me?!" Ash was clearly baffled.

"Of course," his uncle chuckled. "Knowing you, Ash-You will find a way to work your way through this rocky relationship between you and… _your_ Riolu." He ignored the glare he received from the Pokémon.

"I hope so," said uncertainly the black haired teen.

"Good-" Ozpin smiled, somewhat satisfied. "-Well, I shouldn't keep you away from your training. Good luck, Ash." He walked off casually, leaving his nephew alone with the pink Riolu.

When his uncle exited the training dome, Ash glances back to his 'training partner'. "So…should we get star-HEY!" But he immediately notices that the shiny Pokémon was already walking off towards the forest. "Where are you going?!"

The Fighting-type slowly stepped into a halt with her back still turned against her 'trainer'. _**"That's none of your concern, human."**_

Ash's face twisted into a deep frown. "But we're supposed to train together." Then he added, "And my name is Ash!"

 _ **"I don't care what your name is,"**_ snorted thePokémon. _**"Plus, why would I waste my time training with a weak fool like you."**_

"But-"

Then she spared the teen a quick side-glance with narrowed eyes. _**"I see no reason to be around you when you haven't yet proven yourself to me that you're worthy."**_

"Worthy?" Ash blinked.

 _ **"Worthy to be my master,"**_ The pink Riolu heaved a frustrated sigh and shook her head, annoyed. _**"Never mind-"**_ She turns away and glances forward. _**"-I shouldn't waste my time explaining myself to you."**_ She quickly leaps onto a tree branch.

Ash quickly rushes forward and glances up at her location. "Then what about our training?"

 _ **"You can do whatever-"**_ The latter made a face. _**"-As for me…"**_ She sat on the tree branch and relaxed without glancing down at him. _**"I'm staying put right here, to watch you fail miserably in your training."**_ The Pokémon Trainer sighed, but smiled.

"Fine,"

 _ **"Huh?!"**_ The pink Riolu finally glances down at the black haired teen and stares at him incredulously. _**"What did you just say?"**_

"I said fine," He flashed a grin. "If you're not going to train with me, then I can't force you. It wouldn't be right, after all." The Fighting-type narrowed her red eyes at him suspiciously, believing that he was up to something. "Anyway, I should get started on my training for the day. I still have a deadline to meet, less than two months left to complete my training. Hopefully, you'll join me by then."

 _ **"As if I'm going to help you with anything,"**_ snorted the shiny Pokémon.

Ash chuckled in amusement. "I had a feeling you would say something like that." Then he walked off casually to the training ground, leaving his 'Pokémon' to her thoughts as she stared at his back.

 _ **"That boy,"**_ she said quietly.

She didn't know why, but he drew her interest a little.

{…}

Ash spent the whole day channeling his aura into the metal sphere only to come up a bit short, using up most of his energy to produce a dim light. He fell back on his back, completely exhausted and drenched in sweat. Observing from the distance, the pink Riolu had a smirk on her face while snacking on a red juicy apple. _**"Amateur,"**_ said the Pokémon as she took another bite from her snack.

Suddenly, she detected movement in the bushes below her, rustling frantically. _**"Hmm…"**_ She narrowed her eyes at the bushes suspiciously, but it immediately stopped. _**"So…we're not alone, after all."**_

{…}

The next three days, Ash constantly trains his heart out while his 'Pokémon' continues to refuse to take part in his training regimen.

All she did was look on, with no care in the world.

{…}

The following four days, Ash continues to train hard, but struggles to show any improvement since his birthday.

The pink Riolu did nothing to help.

{…}

Over a week had passed by since she hatched from her egg and nothing had changed much. The Fighting-type continues to be a sour grape towards her 'trainer', although he did impress her a little by not giving up after failing several times in the week and spending late nights, to get in extra hours of training into his routine. However, he was still miles away from earning her trust.

{…}

The next day, however, her perspectives about the teen changed a little when she notices that he was emitting a strong blue glow, along with his messy black hair displaying a blue tint after exhausting his body to its limit, collapsing to the ground on his back in sweat. The strange event occurred momentarily until everything quickly returned back to normal. _**"What was that just now?"**_ The perplexed Riolu stared at the Pokémon Trainer very closely, looking for answers, but didn't get any as the latter stood up to his feet and resumed his training. _**"Was that really his aura or-"**_ She just couldn't shake off what she witnessed moments ago, sensing a great deal of potential within the young male. _**"-Was it something more…?"**_

She lowered her gaze to her lap and fell into deep thought momentarily until she finally fixes her gaze back to her 'unique' trainer. _**"Whatever the case, I'll get my answer one way or another, even if that means…I must train…with him."**_ she spat in disgust at the last words.

Ash has finally gained her interest!

{…}

The following day, Ash collapsed again on his back after completing several hours of training, drenched in sweat. He had a frown on his face while he was resting on his back, clearly dissatisfied with something. It's been over a week now and he's heading nowhere fast with his aura lesson, barely producing any results as of late. He wondered what he was doing wrong.

Suddenly, a shadow hovered over his fatigued frame, which drew his attention as he glances up and notices a pair of crimson eyes glancing back at him. It was 'his' shiny Riolu. She was hovering over him with her arms folded together and a deep frown plastered on her face, unamused. He smiled weakly. "Oh, hey there!" He slowly shifts into a sitting position and greets the Pokémon casually. "Finally got bored watching me?"

 _ **"Hardly,"**_ the Fighting-type scoffed at the teen's words. _**"Although I would love to point out, at the rate you're going, you'll never complete your training,"**_ stated the Pokémon in a matter-of-factly tone of voice.

"I can't argue with you there," Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But I don't understand what I'm doing wrong." The pink Riolu rolled her eyes.

 _ **"Obviously, it's your technique."**_

"My…technique?" Ash blinked.

She palmed her face and shook her head in disbelief.

 _ **"Are you that dense?"**_ The latter made a face. _**"You continued to use the same technique over and over again in the past week and a half."**_

"Oh,"

 _ **"It's time for you to change your tactic,"**_ said the Fighting-type with an exasperated sigh. _**"Otherwise, you won't get too far in your training."**_

"You do make a good point-" Ash crosses his arms together and ponders over the thought. "-But will it really make a difference?"

 _ **"You're an idiot,"**_

"Hey!"

She ignored her 'trainer' and walked past him, approaching the metal sphere that was on the ground as she stood behind it, which didn't go unnoticed by the latter. _**"Of course it makes a difference!"**_ The Pokémon stared dully at the object without glancing back to the young teen. _**"Anything is possible. You just need**_ _ **to get rid all the pointless obstacles in your way first.**_ _**Like-"**_ She slowly reeled her right foot back, which immediately gained the Pokémon Trainer's attention.

' _What's she doing?'_ he thought curiously, staring at the pink Riolu very closely.

He couldn't help, but feel a bit anxious.

And he should be!

What she did next was beyond incredible!

 _ **"-This one!"**_ The Fighting-type kicked the sphere with ease launching it past the black haired teen as it plows through several trees and slams into a large boulder within the forest.

Ash's mouth gaped out in surprise. _'W-Whoa…! It weighed twenty-five pounds, but she kicked it like it was an ordinary soccer ball.'_ He was clearly astonished by the Pokémon's display of power.

 _ **"Stop gawking like a fool!"**_ Ash quickly glances back and notices that his pink Riolu was frowning greatly at him with both arms folded together once again. _**"You can do it too, with proper training of course."**_

"Proper…training?" he said slowly, unsure what to make of it when she said that he needed 'proper training'. It could mean anything, but he believed that she was practically telling him that she was willing to train with him. "Wait…does that mean you're finally-" His lips slowly curled into a small smile, which didn't go unnoticed.

 _ **"Don't get the wrong idea, human."**_ She glared sharply at the naïve teen, who immediately frowned. _**"You're still unworthy in my eyes, to be my master and trainer."**_

"I had a feeling you still felt that way." Ash sighed.

 _ **"However-"**_ The Pokémon brought his attention back to her. _ **"-since you're in desperate need of someone showing you how aura works, then I suppose I can humor you by assisting you with your training."**_

 _ **"Wait…you know something about aura?"**_ The pink Riolu rolled her eyes at the teen's stupidity.

Rather than wasting her breath and time answering the question, she casually held a palm out and aimed it directly at a tree. She concentrated on her aura as a small pink sphere began forming within her palm, growing rapidly in size. Then she quickly launches it as her attack easily knocked the tree down.

 _ **"Does that answer your question?"**_ she asked with a bored tone of voice as she glances back to the Pokémon Trainer.

"Whoa! Was that an Aura Sphere?" He gawked at the Pokémon, but frowned, believing that something was quite off about this surprising outcome. "But…wait-You're just a newborn."

He did bring up a good point.

 _ **"And?"**_

However, his 'Riolu' didn't see what the problem was.

"That's, um, kinda unusual,"

 _ **"As in?"**_

"Well, normally you can't learn that move unless you had special training or you evolved into a Lucario." the black haired teen explained lamely.

 _ **"It's called talent,"**_ said the Pokémon with a blank stare. _**"It's something that you humans lack of."**_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

 _ **"Anyway-"**_ She dodged the question and walked back a little, putting some distance between her and her soon-to-be sparring partner. _**"–Before I can teach you how to master your aura, you will have to earn it first."**_

He had a feeling there was a catch why she suddenly decided to help him out with his training.

"What's the catch?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

 _ **"Huh. It seems you're not as dumb as you look, after all,"**_ said the Fighting-type, amused.

"Hey!"

The Pokémon's lips twisted into a small smirk. _**"I'll enlighten you-"**_ She paused briefly, slowly shifting into a battle stance. _**"-In order to win me over, simply make me submit in a match,"**_

"Huh?" Ash was clearly lost.

 _ **"Prove to me that you're not a waste of my time,"**_ said the Pokémon. _**"Until you can beat me, I won't be teaching you anything. Got it?"**_ She issued the challenge.

Ash gladly accepted her terms.

"I accept," He clumsily shifted into a stance of his own. "But why do I get the feeling you're not going to make this easy for me?"

The shiny Pokémon smirked again. _**"You're right-"**_ She quickly rushes forward and grabs him by his collar as she easily lifts him off his feet and tosses him over her shoulders into a large boulder. He crashes into the massive rock and falls upside down with swirls as his eyes. _**"-I have no intention going easy on a weak fool like you."**_ She walks up to the unconscious teen and stares at his pathetic form. _**"Starting today, I'm your master and you're my student. Get used to it."**_

{…}

Later that evening, Ash returned to Team RWBY's dorm room, battered, bruised, and exhausted. His first day of training sessions with his pink Riolu didn't go as well as planned. The Pokémon practically treated him as her personal punching bag, sparing him no mercy as she went all-out on him. He looked like he got mauled by a pack of Beowolves.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" the poor teen cried as Ruby started cleaning his wounds and disinfecting them with alcohol, which didn't feel quite nice.

"Sorry," said the dark red haired girl, offering her friend an apologetic smile.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in annoyance. "You really are an idiot." Ash made a face as he glances in her direction. "Why are you letting _her_ push you around like this?"

"It's part of my training, Weiss," He winced as Ruby started wrapping his wounds with bandages. "No pain, no gain, right?" He flashed a weak grin.

"But still…" She frowned with both arms crossed together and pressed against her chest.

"No need to worry, Weiss." He reassured her with a smile. "I'm going to be fine."

"W-W-Who said that I was worried about you?!" said the Ice Queen as she fidgeted nervously with a faint tint of pinkness plastered on her face. She quickly turned away and mumbled quietly under her breath. "Idiot…"

Ash blinked.

Was it something he said?

"Who does she think she is?" snarled Yang as she punches a fist into her open palm in anger. "How dare she hurt my man?!"

"Your man?" Blake raised an eyebrow as she stood next to her partner with her arms folded together.

Yang grinned as she glances at her teammate. "Of course! Ashy and I have a strong connection. Isn't that right-" The blonde Huntress stares at the black haired teen, hoping he would agree with her. "-Ash?"

"Um…"

"All done!" Ruby's cheerful voice brought everyone's attention in her direction as she finished patching up the latter, randomly placing a band aid with red roses on his right cheek for good luck for tomorrow's training.

"Thanks, Ruby,"

"It's no trouble at all, Ash," Ruby smiled.

"It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."

"Good idea,"

"You know, Ash-" Yang intervened with a look he didn't like one bit. "-My offer still stands."

"I-I think…I'll pass, Yang." He blushed.

"Aww!"

{…}

Day two of his intense training with the pink Riolu didn't start off with a bang, either! Just like the first day, he was still the Pokémon's personal punching bag, although he did show some improvement when he dodged a few quick punches and kicks. However, it still wasn't enough.

"Gyaaahhh!" He groaned as he skidded across the training ground after receiving a swift kick to the gut from his sparring partner. He weakly glances forward and notices that the Fighting-type was charging at him, but suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of him. She nails him with a series of swift punches in his gut, followed by an uppercut and a roundhouse kick, sending him crashing into a boulder. He rested in the pile of debris with swirls for his eyes, unconscious.

 _ **"So weak,"**_ said the shiny Pokémon as she approaches his pathetic form, dissatisfied with the results he was producing. _**"I hope I didn't make a mistake agreeing to this…"**_

{…}

Day three didn't meet her expectations, either! The poor Pokémon Trainer was on the ground, groaning and tapping out when she applied the single leg Boston crab on him.

{…}

Day four, she tosses him into the bushes with thorns, slicing up his flesh.

{…}

Day five, they spent fourteen hours improving on his evasion and speed, skipping breakfast, lunch, and dinner altogether. When she heard him whine that he was starving, she threw into the spring where he was randomly mauled by a new patch of red salmons.

A sweat drop formed in the back of her head and it slid down when she witnessed the scene.

{…}

Day six was another fourteen hour training session.

Ash did show some improvement, reading her strikes and dodging her kicks when it was necessary. However, he has yet landed a single hit against her since they started his new training regimen. Whenever he tries to, his sparring partner easily reads his clumsy attacks and retaliates, knocking him flat on his back.

{…}

Into day seven, something caught the pink Pokémon's attention during the training session, which was notable for her to still have high hopes for Ash.

"Gyaaahhh!" He skidded across the training field after receiving another end of a swift kick from the Fighting-type.

He was a wreck.

His clothes were partially torn apart. His body was covered in cuts and bruises. Beads of sweat were streaming down his face as he tries to catch his breath while keeping his eyes forward on his sparring partner.

She stares at him across the field with both arms folded together and an amused look plastered on her face. She had to admit, he doesn't know when to quit, despite the huge gap between them. But she wonders how well he will handle her next attack, only one way to find out.

She slowly places her palm out and unexpectedly fires an Aura Sphere at him.

His eyes widened in surprise as he gritted his teeth and stood his ground, placing both hands out and braced himself for a collision. The Aura Sphere made contact and pushed him back effortlessly as he felt both feet digging into the ground, skidding backwards toward the spring lake.

The pink Riolu observed the scene very closely as her attack continues to overpower the teen, pushing him towards the edge of the spring until a familiar blue glow caught her attention. _'Finally, it shows itself.'_ She had a smirk on her face.

Suddenly, Ash found his second wind as he held his position when he was about to fall into the spring. His auburn eyes unexpectedly changed light blue, which didn't go unnoticed. _'Those eyes…'_ The Fighting-type narrowed her eyes, unsure what to make of it.

It was very peculiar.

Ash took a step forward and then another one as he was slowly pushing the Aura Sphere back, gaining momentum. _'Maybe he's not as weak as I thought, after all.'_ His sparring partner looks on with interest.

Unfortunately, the momentum quickly shifted when the blue light vanished and his eyes returned to their original color. The Aura Sphere immediately overwhelms the teen and pushes him into the spring where he was viciously mauled by the red salmons.

' _On second thought, never mind…'_ The Pokémon sighed dejectedly.

Moments later, she pulled the teen out of the water as he was on all four, coughing frantically. He was completely soaked from head to toe. _**"Alright, that's enough training for one day-"**_ She stares down at the Pokémon Trainer. _**"-Take a few days to rest up and we'll resume with your training, afterwards."**_ She turns away and starts walking off towards the forest.

"W-Wait…!" The shiny Pokémon quickly walks into a halt as she slowly glances over her shoulder and notices that the weary teen was gradually standing up to his feet and fixing his gaze in her direction. "Not just yet," said the exhausted teen between heavy pants. "Just a little more, please! We're just getting started, after all." He grinned weakly.

 _ **"Oh?"**_ This gains her full attention as she studies him very closely, very amused. _**"So…you're saying you would rather train than accepting my kind offer to rest your body?"**_

"You know me," said the Pokémon Trainer with a smile. "I train until I can't train anymore."

The Fighting-type's lips slowly twisted into a small smirk. _**"You humans are sure stubborn, you know that."**_

He didn't know if he should take it as a compliment or an insult.

 _ **"Very well,"**_ She didn't waste any time making her decision. _**"But let's hope you didn't make a bad decision that you're going to regret."**_ She shifted into her stance.

"Trust me, I won't." He did the same as he told her

She smirks and rushes forward at the teen.

The training resumes.

 **A/N: Sorry if I cut this chapter a bit short. Originally, I was going to debut Ash's new training outfit, but I decided to save it for the next chapter. Also, if you haven't notice it yet, I decided to work on PokéHearts: The Chosen One's Fate & Destiny in the summer rather than spring break because I want to focus on Aura Guardian of Beacon and a new crossover story coming up called Aura Resurrection. It's a crossover between Pokémon and Princess Resurrection. I hope you don't mind and I really hope you don't mind if I work on Aura Guardian during my spring break, which starts on March 11** **th** **so I can take a small break on it and start working on Aura Resurrection.**


	8. Bonds - Part I

**Aoi Hyoudou:** Due to overwhelming demands and complaints, I decided to skim through most of Ash's training so I can further advance the story. There will be flashbacks later in the story, which will reveal the results of his aura training and his relationship with the pink Riolu. So… **DON'T START COMPLAINING WHY ASH SUDDENLY DEVELOPED INTO A STRONG CHARACTER!** The flashbacks will eventually explain it in future chapters, although Ash will continue training in the story. For now, let's focus on Ash and Team RWBY since most of you pointed out that I'm not focusing on their interaction, which is true… So Ash will be with them from now through the Vytal Festival Tournament, although he will only be a spectator rather than taking part of it. With that being said, enjoy!

 **Bonds**

 **I**

{…}

The Vytal Festival Tournament…

It was less than a week away.

What better way to kill some time while they wait than to spend some quality time with a certain black haired Aura Guardian, who had finished his second lesson in his aura training just the other day with his pink Riolu. Also, Ozpin had granted him a brief break from his training to watch some of Team RWBY's upcoming matches. It was great news!

"I'm so glad Professor Ozpin decided to give you a break from your training, Ash," said Ruby with a smile. "Now you can finally see us in action!"

"Looking forward to it." said Ash as he returned the smile.

"Don't be surprised if we win it all because of me." Yang grinned.

"Oh, please…" Weiss rolled her eyes and snorted as she crossed her arms and stared at the blonde Huntress, unamused.

"It looks like someone might be a little jealous that she won't be the reason why we're going to win the tournament." Yang teased.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss glared daggers at her teammate.

"Anyway-" Blake changed the subject before a silly argument breaks out between her friends. "-How did your training go with your little friend, Ash?" This drew everyone's immediate attention back to the Pokémon Trainer.

"Uh, well-" Ash hesitated at first, unsure how to describe his relationship with his Pokémon in the past several weeks. "-I can tell you that she sorta reminds me of Weiss in a way."

"Hey!" Weiss looked quite offended as she glared sharply at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't take it the wrong way, Weiss. I'm just saying." He waved his hands defensively.

Weiss still didn't look amused.

"Just ignored her, that's what we usually do," came Yang's remark.

"Hey!"

"Go on, Ash, just tell us what happened to your training." Ruby said with interest.

"Alright, well…you see, training with Rosa-"

"Rosa?" Team RWBY was clearly lost.

Who was Rosa?

"Oh, right…" He chuckled sheepishly. "Rosa's a name I came up with for 'her'."

"That's a nice name." said Ruby with a smile.

"Thanks," Ash returned the smile. "She told me she liked it, too, but anyway-" He shifted his attention back to the topic. "-After training with Rosa these past several weeks and finally earning her respect, we grew closer and she helped me tap into my aura." He held a hand out and opened his palm as he concentrated a good amount of energy within it. A blue, crooked sphere suddenly appeared, startling the girls.

"Whoa!" They gawked at the Aura Sphere.

"Although-" Ash quickly dismissed the Aura Sphere as it vanished. "-I'm still in the learning phase trying to learn how to form a proper Aura Sphere and master my aura altogether."

"But still, in just a short period you've learned a lot. That's impressive, Ash." Blake encouraged her friend with a tiny smile.

Ozpin's nephew fixed his gaze at his friend and flashed a grin. "You're right, Blake. Thanks."

They briefly stared at each other.

Ash stared at Blake.

Blake stared at Ash.

"A-hem!" Yang cleared her throat, drawing the pair's attention to her. She looked quite jealous for some reason, but she immediately shrugged it off as she walked up to Ash and wrapped an arm around his neck, leaning her face close to his. "So…Ash, what are you planning to do on your break?"

A faint tint of pinkness formed on his face as Yang invaded his personal space, her breathing tickling down his neck. "I, uh, was…hoping I could make up for all the lost time by spending more time with you guys."

"Making up for lost time?" said a dumbfounded Ruby.

"Yeah, I heard from a lot of people that I haven't been spending time with you guys since I arrived at Beacon."

"From who exactly?" demanded Weiss as she crossed her arms and stared at Ash.

"From reviewers who had been reading the story," replied the Pokémon Trainer.

"What?!"

"Nothing!" Ash quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, how about it?"

"Trying to make one of us fall for you, I see, eh Ashy-boy?" teased Yang.

Ash blushed, his face turning bright red. "W-W-What?! No! That's not it at all, Yang!"

"I was only kidding, Ash. Relax." said the amused blonde Huntress. "Although-" A smirk plastered on her face, which the Pokémon Trainer didn't like one bit. "-You did give me a great idea how we should handle our week with you."

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked nervously, despite already knowing the answer.

"Oh, don't worry about the small details, Ash." said dismissively Yang, flashing a grin. "Just leave everything to me."

 **A/N: Sorry if this chapter was a little short, I had writer's block. But don't worry, part II will explore Ash's outing with each member of Team RWBY. For now, however, I'm taking another small break from the series to give me extra time to come up with fresh ideas. I hope you don't mind, although I will try to work on another story to give you guys something to read so keep your eyes open for that.**


	9. Breaking News!

**Aoi Hyoudou:** Sorry, but this is NOT an update! I'm just letting you guys know that I'm planning to rewrite Aura Guardian of Beacon from scratch. After looking back, I didn't like how it was written, leaving major plot holes that some of you pointed out before. Therefore, it will get a fresh start with new changes. No pink Riolu! No Ash being related to Ozpin! And certainly Ash is allowed to bring his Pokémon to Beacon Academy. The pairing will be the same: Ash x Team RWBY. The new version will be renamed: Aura Guardian of Beacon: Resurgence. Expect the story to be work on after my spring semester is over in mid-May. Sorry for any inconvenience I may cause.


	10. Reminder!

**Aoi Hyoudou:** Just a reminder! I posted the prologue for **Aura Guardian of Beacon: Resurgence** if some of you haven't check it out yet. Also, I posted a poll on my profile for it as well. It's open until July 31st so cast your votes! Thank you and enjoy the rest of your summer! ^.^


	11. Poll Results!

**Aoi Hyoudou:** The poll is now closed! And the winner is…RAVEN! The result was quite a big upset since Raven had been trailing behind the votes for several weeks until the last day! What a miraculous comeback! Neo fans don't worry! Your crazy chick was still be part of **Resurgence**! As for Raven, it's going to be interesting now we have her and Yang interacting with Ash. I wonder how well that will played out… Not good, it seems, because of Yang's complicated relationship with her mother. Anyway, keep your eyes out for the next update for **Aura Guardian of Beacon: Resurgence**! The chapter is almost done!


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